You may remember her as Joanne, the shy girl with a back brace from The House Bunny, but now Rumer Willis is burning up the dance floor on this season of Dancing with the Stars.
The 26-year-old daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, who struggled with bullying and body image issues in the past, is more confident than ever and it certainly shows in her dancing.
Rumer is beautiful inside and out, which is why we’re proud to call her our May Girl Crush.Rumer was born in Paducah, Kentucky on August 16, 1988, while her father was filming In Country. Bruce and Demi were so excited to welcome their first child that Demi even had a cameraman videotape her birth. Rumer grew up with her two sisters, Scout and Tallulah in a small village in Idaho. Growing up on film sets, Rumer caught the acting bug early and made her film debut in the 1995 movie Now and Then as Angela Albertson, the sister of Demi’s character, Samantha. She was three at the time.
Once Rumer entered Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan as a freshman, she had already been in two more movies, Striptease and The Whole Nine Yards. In 2004, the family moved to California, where she attended Wildwood Secondary School in Los Angeles. Rumer got accepted into the Theater Program at University of Southern California, but left after only one semester to pursue acting full time. Over the next few years, she received supporting roles in multiple movies, such as The House Bunny, Wild Cherry and Sorority Row. She also made cameos on Army Wives, CSI: NY, The Secret Life of an American Teenager and even snagged a recurring role on the hit CW series, 90210.
Despite her success in film and television, Rumer felt the heat of Hollywood critics, enduring years of being tormented and bullied over her looks. She dealt with her insecurities quietly, only opening up in a recent interview with In Touch on how it took a toll on her self-esteem. In the interview, she explains how people said she “looked like a man and called [her] ‘potato head.’ Rumer described herself as being awkward and ‘[she] didn’t feel comfortable with how [she] looked.'”
Fortunately 2008 was a turning point in the actress’ life. The House Bunny was a box office hit and she landed on PEOPLE’s Most Beautiful List. The following year, she was named Miss Golden Globes and in 2011, Badgley Mischka asked her to front their spring campaign saying her “vivacious spirit” is representative of the collection. Now three years later, Rumer says she’s “never felt more beautiful.” She adds, “Not everyone is going to like you. But you can’t let that change how you feel about yourself.” Rumer shows that if you focus on yourself, ignore the haters and love yourself for who you are that’s all that really matters.
Feature Photo via Fox