Screen legend Judi Dench is quietly going through one of the toughest chapters of her life. The 91-year-old Oscar winner has revealed she is now almost completely blind and can no longer recognize faces, read, or even see the television.
During a recent U.K. TV interview with her longtime friend and former Macbeth costar Sir Ian McKellen, Judi didn’t sugarcoat what she’s dealing with.
“No, you don’t [see me on camera], because I can’t see anymore,” she told the reporter.
Ian, 86, tried to lighten the moment by saying everyone could still see her, and Judi lovingly replied, “Yes, and I can see your outline, and I know you so well in your Macbeth scarf. But I can’t recognize anybody now.
“I can’t see the television, I can’t see to read,” she added.
McKellen then joked that she must sometimes walk up to total strangers and say, “Lovely to see you again.”
“Sometimes,” Judi admitted with a smile.
The beloved James Bond star, who played spymaster M in eight films, was diagnosed back in 2012 with age-related macular degeneration, a condition that damages the retina and causes central vision to blur or distort. Over time, it has taken more and more of her sight.
Her health struggles have also taken a toll on her screen career. Judi hasn’t appeared in a movie since a small cameo in the 2022 Christmas musical comedy Spirited with Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, though she did pop up in a U.K. holiday ad.
In recent years, she’s been hinting that acting might be slipping out of reach.
“It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way [to read],” she explained, revealing that friends now step in to help. “Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”
Even as her on-screen work slows down, Judi isn’t disappearing from the world of theater. She and McKellen are teaming up in a new way, working on a project to revamp Shakespeare education in English schools – including using live and recorded performances of his plays to help students fall in love with the Bard.
Her eyesight may be fading, but Judi’s wit, work ethic, and love of performing aren’t going anywhere.
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