Dame Judi Dench, celebrated for her iconic roles and commanding presence on screen, has offered a candid update on her health, revealing how advanced macular degeneration (AMD) is reshaping her daily life and career.
After an illustrious career spanning decades, Dench has reduced her workload recently as she battles AMD, which has made reading scripts and delivering impressive performances more challenging.
According to the Macular Disease Foundation Australia, AMD is a common condition among the elderly and “is responsible for half of all blindness and severe vision loss in this country”.
Per the MD Foundation’s website, AMD “affects the ability to read, watch TV, and recognise faces. But, by itself, AMD doesn’t lead to total vision loss (black blindness).”
As she navigates AMD, Dench has spoken of how she will always need to be accompanied by someone moving forward as her eyesight worsens.
“Somebody will always be with me; I have to now because I can’t see and I will walk into something or fall over,” she shared during a recent appearance on Trinny Woodall’s Fearless podcast, as per The Express.
Dench seems to welcome the support, admitting that she is “not very good” at being on her own.
“I’m always nervous before going to something. I have no idea why…I’m not good at being on my own at all, nor would I be now,” she said.
“And fortunately, I don’t have to now because I pretend to have no eyesight,” she later quipped.
Dench’s update comes after her future in the entertainment industry was called into question when the screen icon revealed she “can’t even see”.
Dench has not appeared on the big screen since 2022’s Spirited and following previous comments it seems the end of her successful career may be drawing closer.
While attending the Chelsea Flower Show in early 2024 a reporter inquired as to whether Dench has any new projects on the horizon.
“No, no, I can’t even see!” she replied.
Understandably, the comments were cause for concern, but when The Daily Mirror requested clarification, Dench’s representative explained that “Judi has nothing more to add than all she mentioned to the journalist.”
Despite the challenges, Dench has previously expressed her determination to continue performing “as much” as she can.
“I mean I can’t see on a film set anymore,” she previously told The Mirror.
“And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. But you know you just deal with it. Get on. It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”