What is age-related macular degeneration? Actress Judi Dench reveals she can no longer go out alone due to vision loss

Dame Judi Dench revealed that she can no longer go out alone due to her vision loss. On January 14, 2025, she appeared on British entrepreneur Trinny Woodall’s Fearless podcast and briefly talked about living with macular degeneration. The veteran actress explained:

"Somebody will always be with me. I have to now because I can’t see and I will walk into something or fall over."

The James Bond star first revealed about being diagnosed with the said retinal condition in February 2012, when the speculations surrounding her eyesight started making rounds. She told The Mirror at the time that she had a hard time reading scripts.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, macular degeneration is a common age-related eye condition that affects central vision, which means one can't see things directly in front of them. The macula is the central part of the retina that controls central vision; hence those with the disease have normal peripheral vision. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in those over the age of 60.

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"I've had to find another way of learning lines and things"—Judi Dench on how macular degeneration affected her career

Talking to Trinny Woodall in the recent podcast, Judi Dench explained that due to her condition, she was nervous initially before "going to something." The actress said that she never liked being on her own and jokingly added:

"I’m not good at being on my own at all, nor would I be now. And fortunately, I don’t have to now because I pretend to have no eyesight."

This is not the first time Judi Dench has spoken about her deteriorating vision. Back in February 2021, she attended an event for the London-based charity, Vision Foundation. There, she opened up about maintaining her career while suffering from vision problems, especially her troubles with reading scripts.

Dench explained that she figured out a way of "getting about" and "getting over" things that she found difficult. After she stopped being able to read, Dench had to start memorizing scripts.

"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. So I have to learn through repetition."

The Philomena star quipped:

"I just hope that people won't notice too much if all the lines are completely hopeless!"

In a February 2023 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Judi Dench elaborated on how she memorized lines. She stated that she had a photographic memory. At the time, she joked that she needed to find a machine that not only taught her the lines but also told her where they appeared on the script.

Dench at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (Image via Getty)

According to a report by Fox News, in 2014, Judi Dench released a statement saying she didn't want her condition to be "overblown," adding it was something she had to learn to live with and that it would not lead to blindness. In 2015, she told the UK’s Radio Times that she could not travel alone.

Dench's career has slowed in recent years. She last appeared in the British drama Allelujah and did a cameo in Ryan Reynolds's Spirited (2022). In 2024, she starred in the documentary with Jay Blades titled Dame Judi & Jay: The Odd Couple.

No further updates have been shared about Judi Dench's condition.