I whanau a Walter Bruce Willis i te Poutu-te-rangi 19, 1955, i te taone o Idar-Oberstein, Tiamana ki te Hauauru. I whanau tana papa, a David Willis, he hoia Amerika. Ko tana whaea, a Marlene, he Tiamana, i whanau i Kassel. Ko Willis te tuakana o nga tamariki tokowha me te tuahine ko Florence me nga tuakana tokorua, a Robert (kua mate) me David. I muri i tana wehenga mai i te ope taua i te tau 1957, ka hoki mai te papa o Willis ki tana whanau ki Carneys Point Township, New Jersey. Kua whakaahuahia e Willis ko ia i ahu mai i te "raina roa o nga taangata kaakahu puru". I mahi tana whaea i te peeke, he tohunga miihini, me te kaimahi wheketere.
Te Whare Wānanga o Montclair State