Demi Moore, at 62, has had a life full of challenges as well as successes. Renowned for her innovative roles in Hollywood and her public marriages, Moore's path has been defined by great personal difficulty and extraordinary fortitude. Moore candidly shares in her reflections her horrific childhood, her ascent to fame, her difficult relationships, and her final road to self-empowerment.
At sixteen she left the classroom and started working several jobs, including modeling, to help her. Her first major acting job in the soap opera General Hospital, at 19, would signal the start of her ascent to prominence.
She did not, however, have an easy path to fame. Early years in Hollywood, Moore battled addiction and frequently drank too much. She was able to get sober with the help of Joel Schumacher, her director, though, and her career took off with legendary roles in films including A Few Good Men (1992), Ghost (1990), and St. Elmo's Fire (1985). With her performance in Ghost, Moore became among the most well-known names in Hollywood in the 1990s and among the most unforgettable in movie history.
Moore's career veers boldly with parts in provocative films including Indecent Proposal (1993), Striptease (1996), and G.I. Jane (1997). With Moore embracing both her femininity and her strength in the roles, these films questioned society expectations and spurred discussions on gender roles. These movies brought great public scrutiny even as they improved her reputation in Hollywood.
Moore struggled personally during this period as well, including with regard to body image and addiction. In her 2019 book Inside Out, Moore disclosed that her personal life grew more challenging and that her battles with drugs started to sour her relationships.
At barely 17 years old, Moore married musician Freddy Moore. She later called the marriage a means of escape from her turbulent past, but it broke up in 1985. But her 1987 marriage to actor Bruce Willis seemed out of a Hollywood fairytale. Though their careers took them in different directions, the couple had three daughters and grew to be among Tinseltown's most cherished duos. Demi and Bruce stayed friends despite their divorce in 1998; they co-parent their daughters and even went to each other's weddings.