The actress who found success in Hollywood movies after a traumatic childhood: Who is Demi Moore?

Let's examine the biography of actress Demi Moore, who was abandoned by her father before she was born and raped at the age of 15, despite all this, she continued her work and gained international recognition.

Her full name is Demi Gene Guynes, she was born on November 11, 1962 in Roswell, New Mexico. She was born to her biological father, Air Force pilot Charles Harmon Sr., and mother, Virginia King. Her father abandoned her mother before Moore was born. When Moore was three months old, her mother married Dan Guynes, and the family moved many times together.

Moore's stepfather, Guynes, died by suicide shortly after her mother's divorce, and her biological father, Harmon, died of liver cancer in 1977. Moore, whose mother had a long record of arrests, including drunk driving and arson, reconciled shortly before her mother died of a brain tumor on July 2, 1998. Moore spent her early childhood in New Mexico, later moving to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, where she spent time. 

Returning to Roswell at age 14, Moore lived with her grandmother for six months and then moved to Washington state, where her mother and siblings reside. After a while, she moved back to California with her family, where her mother started working in a magazine distribution company. Attending Fairfax High School there, Moore moved out of her family home when she was 16 and dropped out of high school in her third grade.

After signing a contract with the modeling agency Elite Modeling Agency, Moore started taking drama lessons after being inspired by actress Nastassja Kinski, who was next door. In August 1979, Moore met musician Freddy Moore at the Los Angeles nightclub The Troubadour, married and as the leader of the band Boy. The couple lived in an apartment in West Hollywood and wrote three songs together.

Moore gained attention with a photo shoot posing nude on the cover of the January 1981 issue of the adult magazine "Oui." Moore made her film debut with a cameo in the teen drama film "Choices" directed by Silvio Narizzano. She then went on to appear in director Charles Band's 3D sci-fi horror movie "Parasite" (1982). That same year, Moore made her career debut by appearing in the comedy film "Young Doctors in Love" directed by Garry Marshall. The movie was successful at the box office.

In 1984, she appeared as Nicole (Nikki) Hollis in the romantic comedy movie "Blame It on Rio" directed by Stanley Donen. Later that year, she starred opposite Jon Cryer as Laura Victor in the comedy-drama film "No Small Affair" directed by Jerry Schatzberg.

The following year, she starred as Julianna "Jules" Van Patten in the coming-of-age film "St.Elmo's Fire," co-written and directed by Joel Schumacher. The film received both critical and negative reviews and was successful as a commercial breakthrough. Moore starred in the romantic comedy-drama film "About Last Night..."(1986), in which she co-starred with Rob Lowe, a positive turning point in her career. The critically acclaimed film was also well received commercially.

Later that year, Savage appeared in the romantic comedy "One Crazy Summer," written and directed by Steve Holland, with John Cusack and Bobcat Goldthwait. She then co-starred with Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright in the romantic crime film "Wisdom," directed and starring Emilio Estevez. In 1988, Moore starred as a prophetic mother in the apocalyptic drama film "The Seventh Sign." The following year, she starred in the Neil Jordan-directed comedy "We're No Angels" with Robert De Niro and Sean Penn. Both films received mixed reviews and failed at the box office.

She co-starred with Patrick Swayze in Moore's most successful film to date, the supernatural romantic film "Ghost" (1990) directed by Jerry Zucker. The movie, which grossed hugely at the box office, became the highest-grossing movie of the year. It also garnered critical acclaim in every aspect of the film and was nominated for multiple awards in various categories. Additionally, the love scene that started with Patrick Swayze's voice "Unchained Melody" has become iconic in the movie industry.

The following year, Moore appeared in the horror comedy "Nothing but Trouble" (1991), which was a huge hit with critical acclaim. Later that year, she co-produced and starred in the mystery psychological thriller "Mortal Thoughts." She then made her debut as a blonde in the romantic comedy movie "The Butcher's Wife" directed by Terry Hughes.

A year later, Moore co-starred with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the legal drama film "A Few Good Men" (1992), based on a play and directed by Rob Reiner. Both the film and the performances of the actors were appreciated and met with a successful result at the box office. In 1993, she co-starred with Robert Redford and Woody Harrelson in the erotic drama film "Indecent Proposal" directed by Adrian Lyne. The film, which received generally negative reviews, was met with a box office success. In 1994, she appeared in the thriller "Disclosure"(1994) directed by Barry Levinson and co-starring with Michael Douglas. The film received mixed reviews from critics and a box office success.

In 1995, Moore succeeded in making her name known as the highest paid actress in Hollywood. In the same year, she played the character of Hester Prynne in the romantic historical drama film "The Scarlet Letter"(1995), which was adapted from a historical romance novel and was met with harsh criticism. She later had a more moderate box office success, appearing in the coming-of-age drama "Now and Then" (1995). The following year, she starred in the black comedy film "Striptease" directed by Andrew Bergman. Paying a record $12.5 million salary to play the role, Moore was much talked about her willingness to dance topless for the role, and her performance was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews. Despite this, it was a moderate financial success at the box office and for her performance, she won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress.  

Moore also produced "If These Walls Could Talk"(1996), a three-part anthology TV movie about abortion, in which she co-starred with Sissy Spacek and Cher. She received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance. That same year, she voiced the beautiful Esmeralda in Disney's animated musical drama "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". The film was critically acclaimed, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of 1996, earning it at the box office. She then appeared in the voice-over role in the comedy road movie "Beavis and Butt-head Do America" directed by Mike Judge. The film ended up being both a critical and commercial success.

In 1997, she starred in the action drama film "G.I.Jane" directed by and starring Ridley Scott. She garnered criticism for her performance in the financially box office bomb. After this movie, Moore decided to put her career aside and move to Hailey, Idaho, to devote herself to raising her three daughters.

After three years off screen, Moore is back with director Alain Berliner's first English-language film, the art house psychological drama "Passion of Mind" (2000). Her performance was well received and the film received mixed reviews. In the following years, she starred opposite Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in the McG-directed action comedy sequel "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" (2003). While the film received praise for its acting performances, it received mixed reviews overall and resulted in a huge commercial gain at the box office.

In 2007, she took on the role of a determined police officer investigating a serial killer alongside Kevin Costner in the psychological thriller "Mr.Brooks". Receiving mixed reviews, the film was a healthy success at the box office. The following year, she reunited with Michael Caine in the heist crime film "Flawless," directed by Michael Radford. She received positive reviews for her performance, but the movie was a bombshell at the box office.

In 2010, Moore starred with David Duchovny in the independent drama "Happy Tears" with Parker Posey and Rip Torn, and in the comedy-drama "Joneses" directed by Derrick Borte. Later that same year, she played a prostitute and a seductress with a secret past in the action movie "Bunraku" (2010), based on a story and directed by Guy Moshe.

The following year, Moore starred in the critically acclaimed corporate drama "Margin Call"(2011), with a large cast including Kevin Spacey, Simon Baker and Paul Bettany. Also in 2011, Moore directed an episode of the 2011 Lifetime anthology comedy-drama tv movie "Five," and was nominated for a Director's Guild of America Award for Best Direction - Miniseries or TV Movie for the work.

Moore appeared as the mother of Miley Cyrus' character in the romantic drama film "LOL" (2012) and as the mother of the coming-of-age drama film "Very Good Girls" (2013) with Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen. In 2015, she appeared in the western drama film "Forsaken" with Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland, and the road comedy "Wild Oats" directed by Andy Tennant.

Her next project is in the drama film "Blind"(2017), directed by Michael Mailer, alongside Alec Baldwin as the neglected wife of a suspected businessman who is having an affair with a novelist who is blinded in a car accident. That same year, she joined the cast of the musical drama TV series "Empire" as the nurse in charge with a mysterious past. Later in the year, she starred in the black comedy film "Rough Night" directed by Lucia Aniello. The film received mixed reviews, resulting in moderate box office success.

The following year, she appeared as Selma in the Indian drama film "Love Sonia" (2018), which tells the story of a young girl's journey to save her sister from the dangerous world of the international sex trade. She then played Lucy, a superficial CEO, in the black comedy horror movie "Corporate Animals" directed by Patrick Brice, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2019.

On June 24, 2020, Moore appeared as Piper Griffin in the dystopian science fiction thriller "Songbird" directed by Adam Mason, alongside Craig Robinson, Paul Walter Hauser, and Peter Stormare. The film, which was overwhelmingly criticized, was not liked. Moore starred as Diana in the Amazon drama series "Dirty Diana," based on the podcast of the same name.

In 2022, she starred in the musical drama film "Please Baby Please" directed by Amanda Kramer, with Andrea Riseborough, Harry Melling and Karl Glusman. In the same year, she appeared in the action comedy movie "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" directed by Tom Gormican.

Private life

At the age of 18, Moore married singer Freddy Moore, 12 years her senior, on February 8, 1981. Before getting married, Demi started using Freddy's surname as her stage name, and the couple divorced on August 7, 1985. Later, Moore, who was engaged to actor Emilio Estevez, was making wedding plans while the engagement was called off.

On November 21, 1987, Moore married actor Bruce Willis. The couple has three daughters named Rumer Glenn Willis, Scout LaRue Willis and Tallulah Belle Willis. The couple separated on June 24, 1998 and filed for divorce on October 18, 2000. In 2003, Moore began a relationship with actor Ashton Kutcher. The couple married on September 24, 2005, and the couple's decision to end their marriage was announced in November 2011. The couple divorced on November 26, 2013.

Seen as a pioneer of equal pay for women in Hollywood, Moore became Hollywood's highest-paid actress in 1995 with a record-breaking pay in "Striptease." Additionally, Moore has been featured on the lists of many magazines and newspapers featuring the most beautiful women in the world. Additionally, Moore has appeared on the cover of numerous international fashion magazines. Moore, who has appeared in commercials throughout her career, has also been the face of many brands.

Moore supports many nonprofits and organizations. She provides support for these institutions working in different fields, both materially and morally, as well as time and effort. Moore's hobbies include being "the world's highest-profile doll collector". 

In 2009, Moore and her husband Kutcher founded the "DNA Foundation," a nonprofit dedicated to combating child sexual slavery. In 2018, the nonprofit "Visionary Women" awarded Moore the first "Visionary Woman Award" for her work in combating human trafficking.

Moore, who said she was raped by the landlord Basil Doumas in 2019, when she was 15 years old when she left her family, added that she was also raped at the age of 49. Moore's memoir "Inside Out" was published by HarperCollins on September 24, 2019. The book made its name by debuting at number one on The New York Times' Combined Print and E-Book Non-Fiction bestsellers list and Hardcover Nonfiction bestseller list. Moore was among the celebrities who modeled underwear for Rihanna's "Savage x Fenty Vol. 2" fashion show in 2020.