English actress Dame Judi Dench revealed that her deteriorating eyesight has reached a point where she can no longer perform in films or theater.
The 91-year-old Oscar winner discussed the impact of her vision loss and living with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program on Oct. 22.
Dench explained she is no longer able to read, act on stage, or take on film roles, and further described the extent to which the condition has changed her daily life.
“I go up to lots of the wrong people and give them an almost hug and say, ‘Oh sorry, didn’t realize’,” she told host Emma Barnett. “I can’t see your face at all.”
The “Skyfall” actress first revealed her AMD diagnosis back in 2012. The progressive eye condition makes activities such as reading and recognizing faces increasingly difficult.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, AMD is an eye disease that causes loss of central vision or blindness and is the leading cause of visual impairment in adults over the age of 50.
Risk factors include obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, or family history, and while not common, it can develop in younger people as well.
As of 2019, nearly 20 million people in the United States were estimated to be living with some form of AMD, an increase from years prior, according to Prevent Blindness.
Dench also described the emotional impact of losing the ability to see the natural beauty around her, explaining how memories help her connect with the world despite her worsening eyesight.
“They said this summer was absolutely sensational with bluebells; I couldn’t see one,” she told Barnett.
“But I know what my trees look like, and part of it is in my memory and part of it is about hopefully what I can make out.”
When asked how she feels about getting older amid the challenges posed by her declining eyesight, Dench said, “There is nothing to say for it at all. [I] don’t think about it too much.”
In recent years, Dench said she previously relied on friends to help her learn dialogue by repeating lines aloud, allowing her to draw on her strong memory when reading scripts became difficult.
“You find a way of just getting about and getting over the things that you find very difficult,” Dench said during a 2021 online event for the Vision Foundation. “I’ve had to find another way of learning lines and things, which is having great friends of mine repeat them to me over and over and over again.”
She continued, “I have to learn through repetition, and I just hope that people won’t notice too much if all the lines are completely hopeless!”
With more than 140 roles throughout film and television combined, Dench is a versatile performer who established a renowned career stemming from well-known theater productions.
She is best known for her performances as Ophelia in “Hamlet,” Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet,” Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth,” and as M, the head of the British intelligence service in eight James Bond films.
Dench has achieved various accolades, including an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “Shakespeare in Love.” She is also a 10-time BAFTA winner.
