Beloved Actress, 90, Says She's 'Hopeless' as Eyesight Worsens
- - Beloved Actress, 90, Says She's 'Hopeless' as Eyesight Worsens
Kayla AldecoaNovember 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
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Photo by Karwai Tang on Getty Images
Beloved actress Judi Dench has previously opened up about suffering from macular degeneration, but now claims she's "hopeless" amid her worsening eyesight.
"I can’t see any more," Dench, 90, said in an interview at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds earlier this week. "When I go to the theatre, I can’t see. Hopeless."
The Academy Award winner revealed that in order to follow friend Dame Celia Imrie on BBC’s Celebrity Traitors series, she needs someone to tell her what is happening on screen.
"Somebody told me what was happening. I want to hear the dirt that went on," she explained.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, macular degeneration affects the central vision.
"This means that people with macular degeneration can’t see things directly in front of them," the clinic explains, adding that the disease is age-related and is most commonly found in people over 50.
Dench first revealed her diagnosis in 2012, telling Daily Mirror, "I can’t read scripts any more."
"Somebody comes and reads them to me, like telling me a story. 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 told the outlet at the time. "I’ve got what my ma had, macular degeneration, which you get when you get old."
The British star later revealed that the disease has also affected the way she memorizes lines, as she previously learned through photographic memory.
"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 during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in February 2023. "I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them. I could do the whole of Twelfth Night right now."
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
