Judi Dench says her sight loss means she can no longer act or read

As of 8:29 a.m. ET, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026

Dame Judi Dench says her eye condition has left her unable to act or read, more than a decade after she was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration.

"I can't be on stage. I can't do a play anymore. I can't do a film anymore. I can't read anymore," Dench told Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the BBC reported Thursday, Oct. 22.

Dench was diagnosed with the condition in 2012, and it has made it difficult for her to recognize faces, the BBC said. She said she sometimes approaches the wrong people "and give them an almost hug" before realizing her mistake, according to the BBC.

Asked about ageing, Dench, who the BBC said is 91, replied: "There's nothing to say for it at all."

She also spoke about her love of Shakespeare, saying she was "besotted" by his sonnets. "It's the rhythm of it. It's the rhythm of your heart," she said, the BBC reported.

Dench won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love, and played "M," James Bond's boss, starting with GoldenEye in 1995, according to the BBC.