Bruce Willis’ daughter Rumer reveals how her dad inspired her baby girl’s unique name
Rumer Willis revealed how her father, legendary actor Bruce Willis, inspired her daughter Louetta’s first name during an Instagram Q&A on Tuesday morning.
In response to a fan asking how the actress, 35, and her boyfriend, Derek Richard Thomas selected their eight-month’s old moniker, Rumer explained the name is a ‘mix of things’ that she loves.
‘I have always loved the name Lou, so was thinking of that for both a boy or a girl, but then, when we found out she was a girl we came up with Louetta,’ the What Lies Ahead star explained.
She continued: ‘She continued: ‘We wanted to give her options and me and my dad’s favorite singers are Lou = Louie Armstrong, Etta = Etta James, Isley = Isley Brothers.’
She also shared a sweet snap of her kissing Louetta, whose middle name is Isley, in bed.
Rumer also revealed that she wanted five or six kids, or ‘as many that want to come in and have’ her as ‘their mama.’
As for her favorite part about becoming a mother, Rumer gushed: ‘Every moment with her is amazing, but when she smiles at me it’s the best feeling in the world.’
The performer, who made her acting debut opposite her mother in the coming-of-age drama Now and Then in 1995, also told fans that she gained 40 to 45 pounds during her pregnancy.
Last month, Rumer admitted that she was ‘really missing’ her dad, who is suffering from dementia, on social media.
In recent years, the 68-year-old Die Hard star’s health is said to have declined significantly amid his struggles with dementia and aphasia.
Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator of his classic series Moonlighting, said in October that Bruce’s once-intoxicating ‘joie de vivre is gone.’
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Rumer, her siblings, her mother Demi Moore and Bruce’s wife Emma Heming Willis have all delivered periodic updates on Bruce, but details about his mental and physical condition have been fairly sparse.
After Caron’s recent reunion with his former star, he explained that Bruce is still able to make a personal connection, but much of his charm has been sapped by his dementia and accompanying language issues.
‘My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am,’ he said in a devastating interview with the New York Post. ‘He’s not totally verbal; he used to be a voracious reader — he didn’t want anyone to know that — and he’s not reading now.’
Caron, who is also known for creating the series Medium, added: ‘All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he’s still Bruce.
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‘When you’re with him you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there, but the joie de vivre is gone.’
In addition to Rumer, Bruce shares his adult daughters Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 29, with his ex Demi, whom he was married to from 1987 until their divorce in 2000.
He went on to marry Emma in 2009, and the couple share two daughters: Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, nine.
Emma recently spoke about her experiences as a career as she penned an article for Maria Shriver’s The Sunday Paper in honor of November being National Caregiver Month.
The doting wife and mother wrote that finding community is important, sharing: ‘With a specific diagnosis, you have a chance to find a community. You get to connect with people who understand your story immediately.
‘You don’t even have to explain yourself. The people I’ve met and interviewed in the FTD community have so much compassion, and are so determined to make things better for the next family.’
Awareness about the condition, she advised, is crucial.
‘The world needs to know that not all dementia is Alzheimer’s and that not all dementia impacts memory,’ she stated.
‘A disease like FTD presents instead with changes to behavior, personality, language, or movement.’
The advocate said she was ‘inspired and motivated’ by those who have brought attention to other conditions, ‘the changes that have followed have been remarkable.’
Research for FTD is underway and she revealed that ‘the first disease-modifying treatments for FTD are in clinical trials right now,’ and that participants were being actively recruited.
‘Now is the time for our community to take action to end this disease,’ she contended.
Emma relayed that since The Sixth Sense star’s diagnosis, she has become a more compassionate person.
‘I find that I’m able to hold more space for what others might be going through. I’m holding gratitude as well as grief.’
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She added that she also wants to set an example for her daughters through her advocacy, ‘working with others, fighting through the stigma and isolation that a disease like this can bring.’
The former Victoria’s Secret model wrote she understands that her family’s celebrity means they have access to resources other might not be able to afford and ‘It’s important to me to be an advocate on behalf of those families who don’t have the time, energy, or resources to advocate for themselves.’
The Make Time Wellness founder closed by saying she has more hope now than when the Die Hard star was first diagnosed.
‘I have hope in how our entire family can find joy in the small things, and in coming together to celebrate all the moments life has to offer,’ she claimed’As much as I grieve this experience daily—as I know so many others do—I also know that it has made me stronger than I ever thought possible.’
