Known for her roles in Philomena, Notes On A Scandal, Shakespeare In Love, GoldenEye, Spectre, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Judi Dench is battling with a degenerative eye condition. The 90-year-old English actor first revealed her condition in 2012.
She is fighting macular degeneration, which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is an eye disease that affects the central vision. Thus, people with this condition cannot see what is right in front of them, and it occurs among people who are over the age of 50.
How Macular Degeneration Affects Vision?
Macular degeneration affects the centre part of the retina, called the macula. People suffering from this eye condition are not completely blind. Their peripheral vision works just fine. But in the US, it is among the leading causes of vision loss in people who are 60 or older.
People who smoke, have a family history of macular degeneration, are overweight, have high blood pressure, and include a high amount of saturated fats in their diet are more vulnerable to suffering from this disease.
Judi Dench Can't See Anymore
In an interview with ITV News, Dench shared, "Can't recognise anybody now."
"I can't see anymore," she said, adding, "I can't see the television. I can't see to read."
Ian McKellen, Dench's Macbeth co-actor, joined her in the interview. He added that Dench confessed to him that she could only see his "outline" and recognise him only because "I know you so well in your Macbeth scarf."
McKellen joked that if Dench goes to random people and says, "Lovely to see you again". The actor agreed that it happens sometimes.
Judi Dench can't see or read because of macular degeneration. Judi Dench/ Instagram
Judi Dench Can't Go Out
Judi Dench appeared on Trinny Woodall's Fearless podcast in January and shared, "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 added.
"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. And fortunately, I don't have to now because I pretend to have no eyesight," the Skyfall actor said laughing.
In February 2023, Dench confirmed that her eye condition had started affecting her work, including remembering lines.
"It has become impossible, and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page," she said on The Graham Norton Show.
"I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them. I could do the whole of Twelfth Night right now," the Oscar-winning actor added.
In a 2021 interview, Dench explained that she had started memorising her scripts because she was unable to read. She was last seen in Allelujah (2023) and Spirited (2022).
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