The eldest of four children, Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955 at a military base in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. His father was discharged in 1957, and took the family back to the States, where they settled in Carneys Point, N.J. 

ÝÝÝÝÝ Bruce Willis attended high school in nearby Penns Grove, where he was elected student council president and was active in various drama clubs. Bruce attended Montclair State College largely because of its theater department. After landing a role in the play "Heaven and Earth" in 1977, he was motivated to quit school and pursue acting. His first break came with his role as David Addison in the hit TV show "Moonlighting." Willis would eventually go on to win Emmys and Golden Globes for this role. 

ÝÝÝÝÝ Bruce Willis' feature film debut came opposite Kim Basinger in the comedy "Blind Date." But it was the hit action film "Die Hard" series directed by John McTiernan, followed by "The 5th Element", "Armegedonn" and "The Sixth Sense" that made him a moviestar household name.

With Die Hard, director John McTiernan (Predator) has given us a modern action classic -- a movie that doesn't slow down until the end credits are rolling to the tune of "Let It Snow." This film is explosive in more ways than one -- a lavish, noisy extravaganza that gets the adrenaline flowing. 

Bruce Willis is perfect as the wisecracking John McClane, an "everyday" sort of guy who gets caught up in circumstances that force him to play the reluctant hero. This is a person that we can root for, even when some of the things he's doing are humanly impossible. Whether Bruce Willis is climbing up an elevator shaft, throwing himself off an exploding building, or racing barefoot across a flood littered with glass shards, his John McClane holds our attention. It's hard to imagine anyone else in this role. For what it is, this is the top model -- flash, bang, and witty one-liners all included. Yippee kiyay!