Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955), better known as
Bruce Willis, is an American
actor and
producer. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles. He is well known for the role of
John McClane in the
Die Hard series, which were critical and financial successes. He has also appeared in over sixty films, including
Pulp Fiction,
Sin City,
12 Monkeys,
Armageddon, and
The Sixth Sense.
Motion pictures featuring Willis have
grossed US$ 2.55 to US$ 3.05 billion at North American
box offices, making him the seventh highest-grossing actor in a leading role, and ninth highest including supporting roles.
Willis was married to actress
Demi Moore and they had three daughters, before their divorce in 2000 after thirteen years of marriage. He is a two-time
Emmy Award-winning,
Golden Globe Award-winning, and four-time
Saturn Award-nominated actor.
Early life
Willis was born in
Idar-Oberstein,
West Germany, the son of a
Kassel-born
German, Marlene, who worked in a bank, and David Willis, an
American soldier.
Willis is the eldest of four children: he has a sister Florence and a brother, David. His brother Robert died of
pancreatic cancer in 2001, aged 42.
After being discharged from the military in 1957, Willis' father took his family back to
Penns Grove, New Jersey, where he worked as a welder and factory worker.
His parents separated in 1972, while Willis was in his teens.
Willis attended
Penns Grove High School in his hometown, where he encountered issues with a
stutter. He used to be hatefully nicknamed
Buck-Buck by his schoolmates.
Finding it easy to express himself on stage and losing his stutter in the process, Willis began performing on stage and his high school activities were marked by such things as the drama club and
student council president.
