Fans have long debated whether Bruce Willis’ 1988 action film Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
And now his wife Emma Heming Willis, 47, is sharing where she stands on the controversial subject.
While discussing how she and her family are celebrating this holiday season at the End Well 2025 conference, she told People, ‘I think it’s important to put Die Hard on because it’s a Christmas movie.’
The opening scene of the film shows John McClane (Bruce, now 70) arriving at LAX International Airport with a Christmas gift in hand before heading into his wife’s holiday office party.
It’s also filled with classic Christmas tunes, including Winter Wonderland, Let it Snow, Christmas in Hollis, and Ode to Joy.
Emma’s take came as a surprise as Bruce — who retired from acting in 2022 amid his battle with dementia — famously shared the opposite opinion back in 2018.
Fans have long debated whether Bruce Willis’ 1988 film Die Hard is a Christmas movie. And now his wife Emma Heming Willis, 47, weighed in; pictured November 19
While discussing how she and her family are celebrating this holiday season, Emma said, ‘I think it’s important to put Die Hard on because it’s a Christmas movie’; Willis seen in a still
During his Comedy Central roast, he joked, ‘I did this roast for one reason and for one reason only — to settle something once and for all. Now, please listen very carefully: Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It’s a goddamn Bruce Willis movie.’
The wife and mother-of-two also opened up to the outlet about navigating the festive season while acting as her husband’s caretaker amid his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
‘It’s joyous. It’s just different,’ she said. ‘Bruce loved Christmas and we love celebrating it with him. It just looks different, so we’ve kind of adapted to that.’
The husband and wife, who wed in 2009, share daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn.
The Emmy-winning actor also shares three daughters with ex-wife Demi Moore, 63: Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31.
While speaking with People, Emma acknowledged that the holidays can be a particularly painful time for families coping with dementia.
But she emphasized the value in preserving tradition and positivity wherever possible.Â
‘You have to learn and adapt and make new memories, bring in the same traditions that you had before,’ she explained. ‘Life goes on. It just goes on. Dementia is hard, but there is still joy in it.’
She stressed that ‘it’s important that we don’t paint such a negative picture around dementia.’
Bruce’s family revealed in 2022 that the actor had been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that causes a person to lose communication skills.Â
Emma made her statement while chatting with People at the recent End Well 2025 conference. Her take came as a surprise as Bruce famously shared the opposite opinion back in 2018
During his Comedy Central roast, he quipped, ‘Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It’s a goddamn Bruce Willis movie’; Emma and Bruce pictured in 2018, before he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia
The Hollywood icon retired from acting in 2022 amid his battle with dementiaÂ
Bruce pictured with his blended family – ex-wife Demi Moore, current wife Emma, and all five of his daughters – in 2023 for his 68th birthday
By February 2023, his loved ones confirmed it had progressed into frontotemporal dementia (FTD) — a degenerative brain disease that impacts speech, behavior, and cognitive function.Â
Emma details the life-altering experience of going from spouse to caretaker in her book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, published in September.
In July she documented the start of her recording session for the audiobook. Sharing a selfie taken the studio, she wrote on Instagram: ‘Day 1 of 4 in the recording booth for The Unexpected Journey complete.
‘I’ve lived with these words in my head for so long, and today I spoke them out loud for the very first time. I could hardly get through page 1, the dedication page, without crying.’
She added, ‘And as I continued reading, one thought kept circling in the back of my mind… I can’t believe this is the subject I’ve had to become an expert on.’
The former model concluded, ‘It’s heartbreaking. And yet I’m so grateful to share what I’ve learned in the hope that it supports another caregiver on their journey.’
