Bruce Willis’ family recently announced his aphasia diagnosis and retirement from acting . Aphasia is a disorder that typically occurs after a stroke or brain injury and affects language and cognitive functions. Other celebrities, including Emilia Clarke and Sharon Stone, have described their experiences with the disorder over the years too. Here are five celebrities who have handled aphasia in inspiring ways … 1. Bruce Willis Willis’ family announced that he would be stepping back from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia. Willis himself has not made any public statements about his diagnosis, but there was a statement signed off by his ex-wife Demi Moore, current wife Emma Heming Willis and his five children on Instagram, on March 30. “We wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” Rumer Willis, his eldest daughter with Moore, said in a post on her account. “As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Demi Moore (@demimoore) “As Bruce always says, ‘live it up’ and together we plan to do just that,” the statement concluded. Not just Jada Pinkett Smith – 10 celebrities who suffer from alopecia The family did not mention a stroke or brain injury as a precursor to Willis’ diagnosis, so it’s possible the actor may be experiencing primary progressive aphasia, a neurodegenerative condition that can affect language and cognition, Brooke Lang, a speech pathologist, said. 2. Emilia Clarke Soon after finishing filming season one of Game of Thrones, Clarke had an aneurysm while working out with her trainer. “My trainer had me get into the plank position, and I immediately felt as though an elastic band was squeezing my brain. I tried to ignore the pain and push through it, but I just couldn’t,” she wrote in an essay for The New Yorker , published in 2019. “At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged.” After Clarke was sent for an MRI, she was told she had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), a life-threatening type of stroke caused by bleeding into the space surrounding the brain. After having surgery to seal off the aneurysm, Clarke fearfully realised her language was impaired. “One night, after I’d passed that crucial mark, a nurse woke me and, as part of a series of cognitive exercises, she said, ‘What’s your name?’ My full name is Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke. But now I couldn’t remember it,” the actress wrote. “Instead, nonsense words tumbled out of my mouth and I went into a blind panic. I’d never experienced fear like that – a sense of doom closing in. I could see my life ahead, and it wasn’t worth living. I am an actor; I need to remember my lines. Now I couldn’t recall my name.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by SameYou (@sameyouorg) She returned to the ICU and the aphasia passed after about a week. “I was able to speak,” she wrote. “I knew my name – all five bits. But I was also aware that there were people in the beds around me who didn’t make it out of the ICU. I was continually reminded of just how fortunate I was.” She went on to launch SameYou, a charity that helps survivors of stroke and brain injury. Why is Ash Barty giving up her tennis millions at age 25? 3. Sharon Stone After suffering a stroke in 2001, the Basic Instinct actress was rushed to hospital. A cerebral haemorrhage lasted nine days, impairing Stone’s ability to walk and speak. However, she was able to recover from her aphasia and regain her ability to speak and read clearly. “It took two years for my body just to absorb all the internal bleeding I had,” Stone told Harper’s Bazaar in 2015. “It almost feels like my entire DNA changed. My brain isn’t sitting where it used to, my body type changed, and even my food allergies are different.” “I became more emotionally intelligent,” Stone continued. “I chose to work very hard to open up other parts of my mind. Now I’m stronger. And I can be abrasively direct. That scares people, but I think that’s not my problem. It’s like, I have brain damage; you’ll just have to deal with it.” 4. Randy Travis Country music star Randy Travis has struggled with aphasia since his stroke in 2013, but he’s still making music. While Travis still rarely performs, he has made strides to regain his speech after a life-threatening stroke temporarily took away his ability to speak clearly and walk without the use of a cane. Tom Brady’s diet and wellness routine: 8 rules to staying healthy “The memory is as sharp as it ever was,” his wife, Mary Davis Travis, told People in 2017. “Everything’s up there, it’s just the aphasia [loss of speech] and getting it out that’s the frustrating part.” In his 2019 memoir, Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith and Braving the Storms of Life, Travis opened up about his stroke and subsequent aphasia. “I wanted to shout as loudly as I had ever bellowed, yet no words formed, no sound came out of my mouth. But a single tear trickled from my eye and down my face as I mustered every ounce of energy I had. I squeezed Mary’s hand. She knew,” he wrote. “We both knew that my life was in God’s hands. Like me, Mary believed that God had plans for my life and that our faith would get us through. We just weren’t quite sure how.” “But I had braved numerous storms in my life and had frequently faced overwhelming odds, times when others had advised me to give up,” he continued. “I hadn’t quit then – and I wasn’t about to quit now.” In 2016, Travis and his wife performed Amazing Grace at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It has been reported by researchers that those struggling with severe aphasia may find it easier to sing lyrics than speak the same words. In 2021, Travis released his first song since his stroke in collaboration with Drew Parker, titled, There’s a New Kid in Town. 5. Dick Clark Eight years before his death, Dick Clark suffered a stroke that left his communication impaired. In 2006, he returned to host New Year’s Rockin’ Eve . Known for his annual New Year’s Eve countdown celebration, Clark continued to host the event for years even after having a stroke in December 2004. The stroke left the American Bandstand host paralysed on one side of his body and his speech impaired. Inside Khloe Kardashian’s incredible body transformation “Last year I had a stroke,” he said on the broadcast, according to People . “It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It’s been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I’m getting there.” He passed away in 2012 after a heart attack. This article originally appeared on Insider . Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .