Dame Judi Dench sits for sculptor Frances Segelman live in front of an invited audience at Claridge'sCredit: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images/INSTARimages
By
Matthew Rudoy
Published 11 minutes ago
Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025.
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Dame Judi Dench gets candid about the impact of her eye condition. In 2012, the acclaimed actress was diagnosed with macular degeneration. According to the National Institutes of Health, macular degeneration is "an eye disease that can blur your central vision" and is "a leading cause of vision loss for older adults."
While speaking with ITV, the interviewer noted that Dench is not often seen on camera nowadays, which she says is because "I can't see anymore." Ian McKellen, who was beside her during the interview, jokingly said, "But we can see you."
Dench clarified to McKellen that "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 read."
McKellen approached the situation with further humor, asking her, “But do you go up to total strangers and say, ‘Lovely to see you again?'” She laughed, smiled, and replied, "Sometimes" to his query. Watch Dench's full response and her exchange with McKellen below:
Due to her condition, Dench does not attend any kind of events solo or go out on her own anymore, as doing so is no longer safe for her.
Dench shared with The Daily Mirror in 2012 how macular degeneration was already affecting her ability to read new scripts. She spoke about the support she received from family and friends and the toll that her eye condition was taking on her daily life as well.
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. The most distressing thing is in a restaurant in the evening I can’t see the person I’m having dinner with.
Despite her diagnosis, there have been a wide array of Judi Dench movies, television series, and stage productions since her diagnosis in 2012. This includes roles in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Branagh's Academy Award-nominated film Belfast (2021), and Tim Burton's adaptation of the fantasy novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016).
In 2015, Dench appeared in her final James Bond movie as M in Spectre. M was killed in Skyfall (2012), but still appeared in the 2015 installment due to the character having a pre-recorded video message.
Dench also played the part in GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006), and Quantum of Solace (2008), giving her the unique distinction of appearing in the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig eras of James Bond.
Beyond James Bond and some of her roles from the past decade, Dench has received eight Academy Award nominations, which recognized her roles in Mrs. Brown (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Philomena (2013), and Belfast. She won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Shakespeare in Love.
On the stage, Judi Dench has had her fair share of roles in William Shakespeare plays, including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, and Ophelia in Hamlet.
Headshot Of Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Birthdate
December 9, 1934
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