Academy-Award-Winning Actress Judi Dench Shares Heartbreaking Health Update

Judi Dench, one of Britain’s greatest actresses, hasn’t been on screen for a while.

In a new interview with ITV, she revealed the reason why.

The 90-year-old actress has been battling blindness for over a decade, and was previously diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration. Now, her vision has gotten so bad that she “can’t recognize anybody now.”

“I can’t see anymore. I’ve got, you know, that thing,” she said.

When fellow legendary actor Ian McKellen fired back that they can see her just fine, she replied, “Yes, and I can see your outline and I know you so well. But I can’t recognize anybody now. … I can’t see the television, I can’t see to read.”

McKellen later replied, “But do you go up to total strangers and say, ‘Lovely to see you again?’” Dench laughed and said, “Sometimes.”

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Judi tells ITV News she cannot attend events alone because of her age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which affects her eye sight. #itvnews #judidench #ianmckellen #shakepeare #amd

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In 2012, she told the Daily Mirror that she couldn’t read her scripts anymore and was relying on her agents, friends and family to read for her.

“It’s usually my daughter or my agent or a friend and actually I like that, because I sit there and imagine the story in my mind,” she said. “The most distressing thing is in a restaurant in the evening, I can’t see the person I’m having dinner with.”

Dench is one of Britain’s most renowned and recognizable actresses, thanks to her eight Oscar nominations and her role as M in the James Bond film series.