How old is Judi Dench? Oscar-winning actress hints at possible retirement as she says she "can’t even see" and hasn't taken on a new project

Judi Dench, also a veteran English actress, talked to a reporter at the Chelsea Flower Show on May 20, 2024, about her future in the film industry. Upon being asked if she had further projects in hand, Dench told the reporter,

"No, no, I can't even see!"

The legendary actress is now 89 years old and had last appeared in the 2022 movie Spirited, as herself. After the actress made the statement at the flower show, outlets contacted her agent, who revealed that there was nothing more to add as of now.

The Independent reported that Judi Dench had been suffering from macular degeneration of her eyes. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, this is a problem that mainly affects the retina.

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Mrs Brown actress Judi Dench recently hinted at a possible retirement from her acting career

89-year-old veteran actress Judi Dench, born in 1934 in Heyworth, had previously spoken about how difficult it was for her on set when she couldn't even see properly. The Mirror reported that Dench had to memorize her script on the set since she had bad eyesight.

In another interview with the BBC in 2022, Dench, however, revealed that while her eyesight was getting worse, she would not let that affect her acting career. The English actress then said,

"I’ve got to teach myself a new way of learning. I’ve realised that I need to know where it is on the page. I’ll teach myself a way. I know I will, as long as I don’t trip over doing it."

She added:

"I don’t want to retire. I’m not doing much at the moment because I can’t see. It’s bad. I have a photographic memory so a person saying to me, ‘This is your line...’ I can do that."

Dench first performed on stage on a professional level, back in 1957, at Liverpool's Royal Court Theater. Early in her career, she performed in a number of Shakespeare plays, including Macbeth, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo & Juliet.

In the 1995 movie GoldenEye, Judi Dench played the role of James Bond's boss, M. At the same time, she also became the first woman to ever play the role of M. The film ended up earning a worldwide gross of $350.7 million. Then, in 1997, she played the role of Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown, which became a commercial success globally.

Some of her best movies include The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Red Joan, Pride & Prejudice, and Shakespeare In Love. The veteran actress has won several awards over the years, including an Academy Award, six BAFTA Awards, and one Tony Award, among several others. In her entire career, Judi Dench had 200 nominations for several competitive awards, among which she won 55 of them.

In 2019, in an interview with The Standard, Dench paid tribute to Peggy Ashcroft, and claimed that it was her who changed Dench's life. During the conversation, the 89-year-old actress said,

"In the Fifties I was taken to Stratford by my parents where I saw Peggy playing Cleopatra and it completely changed my life. I was going on one road and completely veered off along another. Subsequently she became an unbelievably good friend and a mentor to me."

In the interview, Judi expressed her concern about the future of Shakespeare plays. She explained that she hoped people in the future would still want to see him and his work.

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Dench has always been passionate about trees and nature

Judi Dench reportedly had an emotional moment at the Chelsea Flower Show where she got the first seedling from the Sycamore Gap Tree, which was illegally cut down last year. Dench said,

"I’ll be naming him Antonius, the adopted son of the Emperor Hadrian."

The National Trust explained that Dench, who has been a plant lover, expressed serious concern after the tree was illegally chopped down. In 2022, The Independent published an article on Dench, which revealed that the veteran actress had a garden filled with "memorial trees."

The main concept behind the garden was that the trees planted there were in memory of several well-known personalities. The list includes Stephen Sondheim, Alan Rickman, and Natasha Richardson. When asked how she came up with the idea, Judi Dench said,

"Well, I love them. I love trees and I just thought what a nice thing that would be to do."

She also introduced "Mike," a tree that she planted in remembrance of her late husband, Michael Williams, who passed away in 2001. According to Dench,

"It is about remembering, but it’s through a living thing, so you don’t remember them and stop."

Judi Dench and her husband, (Photo by Steve Finn/Getty Images)

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It was in a 2017 BBC documentary that Dench first opened up about her "memorial trees" and her immense love for nature. Fans will have to wait and see if the legendary actress is planning to retire after this hint at her future plans.