Rumer Willis gets genetic test after dad Bruce’s dementia diagnosis

Rumer Willis underwent genetic testing to assess her risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease as she takes a more proactive approach to her health following her father Bruce Willis’s frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.

The 38-year-old actor and eldest daughter of Bruce, 71, and Demi Moore, 63, has partnered with health testing company Function, which offers more than 160 laboratory tests, imaging and specialist assessments.

Rumer told People her family’s experiences with dementia and breast cancer prompted her interest in taking an APOE genetic test, which can provide information about a person’s genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

She said: “It’s terrifying to get answers sometimes. Obviously there are genetic things in my family. Not just dementia, I’ve had some family members who have had breast cancer and family members who have had different things.”

Rumer added: “But I think when you have information, it’s power. And that sounds so, like, Spider-Man, but when we’re able to see, OK, maybe I’m more predisposed to this, you can just start actively working to reduce inflammation in your body, work on heart health, whatever it is. That’s why it’s been so amazing to be able to track a lot of those things with Function.”

Rumer also said having access to test results also gave her information she could take into appointments with healthcare professionals.

She went on: “It also just feels like such an easy way to have information to share with your provider that says, ‘Hey, I actually have this data, so you can’t gaslight me about what’s happening.’”

Bruce’s family announced in 2022 the Die Hard actor was stepping away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia.

The family subsequently disclosed in 2023 that his condition had progressed and that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, or FTD.

His wife Emma Heming Willis, 48, recently addressed what she described as a common misconception surrounding the condition, explaining that Bruce’s form of FTD affects language rather than memory.

Rumer has also spoken in recent months about the changes she has observed in her father.

In May, she said on The Inside Edit podcast Bruce was “OK in the context of what his reality is” and described a new “tenderness” in their relationship.

She also said she was grateful that her daughter Louetta, three, had been able to form a relationship with her grandfather.

Rumer added: “I love getting to go over and see him. I’m so grateful that I have a child that got to meet him because I don’t know if my sisters will have that. You know, who knows?