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Dementia in Hollywood: Celebs Diagnosed With the Disorder

theloadedgunn.com 5 April 2024

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More than 55 million people around the world have been plagued by dementia, and now the condition — known for loss of memory, language and other critical thinking abilities — is sadly making its way through Hollywood, from stars like Bruce Willis to television personalities such as Wendy Williams.

In Touch looks at the celebrities who have recently been diagnosed with the life-altering disease, which has now become the seventh leading cause of deaths worldwide.

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Sharon Stone

The Basic Instinct star, 66, has battled back from the near-fatal brain bleed and stroke she suffered in 2001 — but Stone was left with life-altering impairments related to aphasia. The Casino actress was given a one-percent chance of survival after enduring a seven-hour surgery — but that was just the start of her journey. Stone said she spent the next two years relearning how to walk, talk and write. The star still takes medication daily to calm her stuttering and prevent memory loss and brain seizures, but has said she now treats “each day as a gift!”

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Mavis Leno

Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno put a hold on his professional life to quietly care for Mavis, his beloved wife of 43 years, after her dementia diagnosis. “Jay loves Mavis deeply and always has since they first met at the Comedy Store back in the ’70s,” reveals a friend and fellow comic. In January, Leno, 73, filed a petition in California for conservatorship of his wife’s estate, saying 77-year-old Mavis “has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years” and that her “current condition renders her incapable of executing the estate plan.”

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Bruce Willis

The Die Hard actor’s family shocked the world in March 2022 when they revealed the charismatic movie star was stricken by aphasia — a condition that eroded his memory and ability to communicate. But one year later, Willis’ loved ones confirmed his condition had advanced to progressive frontotemporal dementia, which has further compromised his ability to speak and think. His wife, Emma Heming Willis, 45, admits her 69-year-old husband’s mental state continues to worsen. Emma, who shares two daughters with the Pulp Fiction star (whom she married in 2009), insists their household still has “love” and “joy” — even as life is clouded by “grief and sadness.”

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Joanne Woodward

The Hollywood legend was diagnosed with dementia in 2007 and virtually disappeared from public view. Sources say the Three Faces of Eve Oscar winner, who was wed to the late screen icon Paul Newman for 50 years, is completely lost and delusional. The 94-year-old is living with her family in Connecticut. “At this point, the best that can be done for Joanne is to keep her comfortable while waiting for the inevitable,” a source revealed just a year ago. “It’s a tribute to her courage and determination she has lived with this debilitating disease as long as she has.”

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Wendy Williams

Williams, 59, was diagnosed with progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in late 2023. Her son, Kevin Hunter Jr., recently confirmed her condition was partially alcohol induced. The Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams? candidly exposed the star’s ongoing spiral into a haze of alcohol abuse and cognitive decline as her family seeks to gain control of her finances and life decisions. Williams’ care is now firmly in the hands of court-appointed caregiver Sabrina Morrissey, a Big Apple attorney. She has sued Lifetime for taking advantage of the TV host to make the documentary; Lifetime is fighting back.

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Randy Travis

The country crooner was given less than a one-percent chance of survival after a massive stroke left the music icon with limited speech and movement — and a diagnosis of aphasia. Just three days after he was admitted to the hospital for heart issues in 2013, the hitmaker, now 64, suffered a near-fatal stroke and underwent life-saving surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. Sources spill Travis later sold his Nashville home and released the memoir Forever and Ever, Amen to pay off a mountain of medical bills. Today, Travis has defied the odds — he can even still sing.

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theloadedgunn.com 5 April 2024

0 7 3 minutes read