Rumer Willis is sharing the sweet and subtle connection between her dad, Bruce Willis, and her daughter's name.
The 35-year-old Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood actress addressed a wide array of topics in an Q&A session with fans on her Instagram Story, offering insight into her life as a new mom and her childhood.
Rumer welcomed her firstborn, daughter Louetta Isley Thomas Willis, in April with her musician boyfriend, Derek Thomas. Responding to one follower's question about how little Lou's name came to be, Rumer explained its sentimental meaning.
"Her name is a mix of things I love," Rumer wrote over a photo of herself kissing Louetta. "I have always loved the name Lou so was thinking of that for both a boy and a girl but then when we found out she was a girl we came up with Louetta."
She continued, "We wanted to give her options and me and my dad's favorite singers are Lou= Louis Armstrong, Etta= Etta James, Isley= Isley Brother[s]."
While Louetta is Rumer's first baby, the star certainly hopes she won't be the last. Answering another question about how many babies she would like to eventually have, Rumer shared, "Five or six. As many that want to come in and have me be their mama."
Rumer also delivered on the nostalgia front, obliging one person's request for "a rare photo of baby you with Bruce." In the old snapshot, circa 1988, a newborn Rumer sleeps peacefully on Bruce's chest for a skin to skin nap. Bruce is rocking some seriously of-the-era facial hair as he gazes straight at the camera with tired eyes.
She was also asked to weigh in on her favorite Bruce movie (The Fifth Element) and to settle the debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas film.
"I've collected all three Willis girls," she began, documenting a nighttime car ride with her sisters, Tallulah and Scout.
"It's a f**king Christmas movie," says Scout. "It takes place during Christmas."
Bruce shares his elder trio of daughters with his ex-wife, Demi Moore. He's also dad to two younger girls, Mabel and Evelyn, with his now-wife, Emma Heming Willis.
Last month, Rumer, shared with her Instagram followers that she was "missing" her dad as his condition continues to worsen amid a battle with dementia.
"Really missing my papa today," Rumer wrote in a caption.
For the post, she attached a picture of herself and her father, 68, from when she was a baby. In the pic, Bruce is holding his young daughter in his arms as he looks at her fondly.
Some commenters immediately expressed concern that the Hollywood icon had passed away, however, many seemed to make the connection to his dementia diagnosis, which causes a person to lose their memory, language and other functional abilities, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
Bruce was diagnosed with the disorder last year, and as a byproduct, aphasia, a brain-mediated inability to speak or to understand speech. According to the Mayo Clinic, frontotemporal dementia "is an umbrella term for a group of brain disorders that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain."
Also last month, Emma penned a heartbreaking tribute to her husband as he fights frontotemporal dementia.
In a personal essay written for Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper, the mother of two shared her perspective and what she's learned as she and Bruce's family navigate his disorder. In her step-by-step guide, Emma shares the value of community, being aware, and research.
"I struggle with guilt, knowing that I have resources that others don't," she wrote. "When I’m able to get out for a hike to clear my head, it's not lost on me that not all care partners can do that. When what I share about our family’s journey gets press attention, I know that there are many thousands of untold, unheard stories, each of them deserving of compassion and concern. At the same time, I see that what I share matters to others who may be struggling, and in a small way makes them feel seen and understood."
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