Cybill Shepherd Opens Up About Her Steamy Connection With Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd have quite a few things in common. For starters, both found career-defining moments while co-starring as private detectives in the ABC series "Moonlighting" between 1985 and 1989. But both actors also share personal struggles with serious health conditions. In March, Willis announced he's suffering from aphasia, a brain disorder that affects a person's language skills, according to Cleveland Clinic. Because of the diagnosis, Willis's family shared the "Die Hard" legend would retire. "As Bruce always says, 'Live it up' and together we plan to do just that," they said on Instagram.
Shepherd, on the other hand, became an advocate for multiple sclerosis after 2008, when her daughter, Clementine Ford, was diagnosed with the disorder that affects the nervous system. Ford, who's also an actor and best known for her role in "The L Word," first revealed publicly that she was living with MS in September 2018. "This was taken at the beginning of a lovely day. By the end of it I noticed pins and needles in my feet ... That was the beginning," she wrote on Instagram.
Since then, Shepherd has used her voice to raise awareness and funds for MS research. "I remember the day when I went with my daughter Clementine up to University of California San Francisco, to one of the experts on multiple sclerosis, and it was a positive," she told ExtraTV. At a recent MS event — and amid Willis's news — Shepherd recalled their chemistry back in the day.
Cybill Shepherd was attracted to Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis's David Addison and Cybill Shepherd's Maddie Hayes had undeniable chemistry in "Moonlighting." It turns out the same was true behind the scenes, too. "No one else was ever considered for the part when he walked in the room," she told ExtraTV at the Race to Erase MS benefit gala on May 20. "My temperature went up 10 degrees." Right then and there, Shepherd knew how her relationship with Willis was going to play out. "That meant two things to me: one, I was very attracted to him, two, I would never act on it, 'cause we were both very attracted to each other," she detailed.
Despite the sexual tension, David and Maddie were always bickering on-screen. That was also true in real life, though. "We had fights all the time," she told the Television Academy in 2021. "And that was part of the preparation." But it often got in the way of their work. "I remember at one point in the show, it had gotten to where we just hated each other," she told Entertainment Weekly in 2005.
Willis doesn't hide that aspect of their relationship, either. "We didn't get along very well on that show," he said on "The Arsenio Hall Show" in 1990. But Willis holds no grudge, attributing the friction to the busy schedule. "It's a hard thing to do, and I have no hard feelings." Shepherd feels the same way. "I will always love Bruce," she told ExtraTV.