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Judi Dench

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Critically-acclaimed actress and dame Judi Dench revealed that she is no longer able to see while filming movies due to her age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which she was diagnosed with in 2012.

Dench (88) made her professional acting debut in 1957, has now been working in the entertainment industry for over 60 years. She spoke to the UK’s Mirror about her continued desire to keep acting and aiming to work “as much as [she] can,” despite her medical restrictions.

“I mean I can’t see on a film set any more,” she shared. “And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much.”

However, Dench explained that “you just deal with it” and “get on.”

“It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part,” she clarified. “I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”

According to The Guardian, she has approached memorizing her lines orally as opposed to memorization through reading. Some of her most recent IMDb credits included an appearance as herself in Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds’ 2022 holiday movie Spirited, as well as roles in Allelujah (2022), Belfast (2021).

Judi Dench in 'Belfast' — Photo: Everett Collection

Dench credited her “irrational fear of boredom” for pushing her to continue working.

“That’s why I now have this tattoo that says carpe diem,” she told Mirror, pointing to a tattoo of the Latin phrase, that she received at age 81. “That’s what we should live by.”

Nonetheless, she described her symptoms as “the most terrible shock to the system.”

“Ghastly,” she added. “It’s terrible to be so dependent on people.”

After losing Michael Williams, fellow actor and husband of 40 years, she was “lucky” to find love with David Mills, a red squirrel breeder, nine years later, per Hello! Magazine. Although the two never got married, Mills has served as someone whom Dench can rely on.

“I never expected, not for a minute, that there would be anybody else in my life after Michael died,” she said. “I’ve had many, many good friends, but it’s been very unexpected to have somebody new who is as caring as my partner, David.”