Bruce Willis was born in an American military base in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany to an American father and Marlene Willis, a German Lutheran mother. His father, David, was a welder and factory worker who took his family back to Penns Grove, New Jersey after being discharged from the military in 1957. Willis, who was the eldest of four children, was always an outgoing youngster, although he grew up with a stutter. Finding it easy to express himself on stage, Willis began performing on state and his high school memberships were marked by such things as the drama club and school council president.

Rather than go to college after graduation, Willis took after his father and became a blue-collar worker, transporting work crews at the Du Pont factory. He decided to quit after a colleague was killed on the job, and thereafter became a regular at several bars. Willis also discovered an innate knack for playing the harmonica, and did so for an R&B group, Loose Goose. After a stint as a bodyguard (which he actually plays in his 1991 movie, The Last Boy Scout), Willis returned to his original passion of acting. He enrolled in the drama program at Montclair State University, where he was cast in the class production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The ambitious junior finally decided to leave school in pursuit of more lucrative movie roles by heading for New York.

Willis returned to the bar scene, only this time for a part-time job and as a way to meet New York celebrities. After countless auditions, Willis finally made his theater debut in the off-Broadway production of Heaven and Earth. He gained more experience and exposure in Fool for Love, a stint on television's Miami Vice, and a Levi's campaign.

He was involved in an incident in high school that got him expelled. He was readmitted after his father hired a lawyer.
He first found fame with his starring role in the hit TV series Moonlighting (1985-89) establishing himself as a comedic actor. However, it was his then-unexpected turn in the Die Hard series that catapulted him to fame. He also was successful in his turn as the voice of little Mikey in the Look Who's Talking series.

In the late-1980s, Willis enjoyed moderate success as a recording artist, recording an album of blues entitled The Return of Bruno, which included the hit single "Respect Yourself." Follow-up recordings were not as successful, though Willis does return to the recording studio from time to time.

In the early 90s, Willis' career suffered a moderate slump starring him in flops like The Bonfire of the Vanities and Hudson Hawk, among others. However, in 1994 he had a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino's acclaimed Pulp Fiction, which gave a new boost to his career. He went on to play the lead roles in Twelve Monkeys and Armageddon. However, by the end of the '90s, his career had fallen into another slump with critically panned films like The Jackal, Mercury Rising and Breakfast of Champions.

In 1999, Willis achieved what could be considered the biggest success of his career with his starring role in M. Night Shyamalan's debut film, The Sixth Sense. The film was both a commercial and critical success and launched Willis career to a new level of stardom.

He once had to appear in the hit sitcom Friends without pay, because he lost a bet to Matthew Perry, his costar in The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards.

Willis also appeared on a Japanese Subaru Legacy commercial, optimising the car for sale, with the backing music of Jade from Sweetbox, Addicted and Hate Without Frontiers.

He is currently filming the thriller Perfect Stranger, opposite Halle Berry, and will appear as an unscrupulous farmer in the film version of Fast Food Nation.

Willis was married to actress Demi Moore from November 21, 1987 to October 18, 2000. The couple gave no public reason for their breakup. Willis and Moore had three children during their thirteen-year union: Rumer Glenn Willis (born 1988), Scout LaRue Willis (1991) and Tallulah Belle Willis (1994). Since their breakup, rumors have persisted that the couple planned to re-marry, but Moore has since married Ashton Kutcher. They are still on friendly terms, and continue to share a home and several businesses in Blaine County, Idaho.

Currently, Willis is reportedly dating Days of Our Lives actress Nadia Bjorlin.

Willis was one of few Hollywood celebrities to publicly support the Iraq War in 2003. He has endorsed every Republican presidential candidate except Bob Dole in 1996, because Dole had criticized Demi Moore for her role in the movie Striptease. Willis has attempted to play down his status as one of Hollywood's most outspoken Republicans, although he continues to vocally support the Iraq war and gun ownership. In February 2006, Willis appeared in Manhattan to talk about his new movie 16 Blocks with reporters.