Rosario Monachino
Judi Dench has issued a sad update regarding her health.
The Oscar-winning actress, 88, picked up the prestigious gold statue in 1999 for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare In Love.
She is also known for playing M in multiple James Bond films – as well as starring in movies such as Philomena and Murder on the Orient Express.
Dench has had a long and illustrious career, but unfortunately, she has now spoken out about how her health is impacting her job.
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The Cats actress revealed to The Mirror that she was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012.
According to the NHS, this is a common condition that can have an impact on your vision.
While it won’t likely lead to complete blindness, the health organisation warns that it will make everyday activities – such as reading and recognising faces – difficult.
Now, the condition has regressed so much that Dench struggles to learn lines as she can’t read scripts when on set.
She told the publisher: “I mean I can’t see on a film set any more.
“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.”
Dench went on to say that fortunately, she has ‘a photographic memory’.
She also confessed that being dependent on other people has been a ‘terrible shock to the system’.
However, Dench doesn’t plan on stopping her career anytime soon.
The Belfast actress admitted that she has ‘an irrational fear of boredom’ and this is why she has a tattoo that says ‘Carpe Diem’ – which means seize the day.
Due to her diagnosis, Dench had to give up her driving license a few years ago.
In a previous interview with The Independent, she realised this when she mistook a complete stranger for her friend Alistair McGowen.
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel star recalled: “I was driving along and saw who I thought was Alistair McGowan and I shouted ‘w***er’… and it was a total stranger.”
Another facet of life that has been affected by Dench’s condition is her ability to see food.
She has even revealed how one time she had to get her partner, David Mills, to cut up her meal as she couldn’t make out what it was, as per The Express.
“He cut it up and handed something to me on a fork and that’s the way I ate it,” Dench commented.
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