Judi Dench, 91, Says Eye Disease Means She Can No Longer Act

Judi Dench, the Oscar-winning British actor, said Thursday that an eye condition diagnosed more than a decade ago has progressed to the point that she can no longer perform, read, or recognize people she knows, according to NBC News.

What did Judi Dench say about her eye condition?

Dench, 91, told BBC Radio 4's "Today" program that the disease has closed off the two parts of her career that have defined six decades on stage and screen. "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," she said, according to NBC News.

She told the BBC's Emma Barnett that she has learned to "make allowances" for the condition as it has worsened, adding that her approach now is to "just get on and don't think about it too much."

What is age-related macular degeneration?

Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, commonly abbreviated AMD, in 2012, NBC News reported. The disease affects central vision, making it difficult for those who have it to see what is directly in front of them, which is the vision actors rely on to read scripts, follow blocking on a stage, or make eye contact with scene partners.

The condition is progressive, and Dench's comments to the BBC this week mark the latest public update on how far it has advanced since her diagnosis 14 years ago.

How has the condition changed over the past two years?

Dench first spoke publicly about the toll AMD was taking on her work in 2024, when she told NPR's "All Things Considered" that the disease had worsened and was affecting her ability to perform. At the time, she also discussed the condition with "CBS Mornings," telling the program: "And apart from the fact that I can walk straight past to an old friend, I can act it. And it doesn't matter — in the great scheme of things, doesn't matter," according to NBC News.

That 2024 remark suggested Dench was still finding ways to work around the condition's effects on recognizing people. Her comments to the BBC this week go further, describing an inability to act, perform on stage, or read at all — a shift from adapting around the disease to being stopped by it.

"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."

What did Dench say about aging in general?

Asked directly by the BBC how aging is going for her, Dench gave a one-word answer: "Rubbish," NBC News reported. The blunt response came in the same interview in which she detailed the practical limits the eye disease has placed on her work, framing the physical toll of AMD as part of a broader frustration with growing older rather than an isolated medical complaint.

Has Dench retired from acting?

The interview does not include a formal retirement announcement from Dench, and NBC News's report does not quote her using that word. Her statement that she "can't do a play anymore" and "can't do a film anymore" describes what the disease has made impossible rather than a decision to step away from the craft. Whether Dench pursues any additional screen or voice work that does not require reading scripts or appearing in front of a live audience remains an open question that her BBC remarks do not address.

Dench's career includes an Academy Award for best supporting actress for "Shakespeare in Love,” alongside decades of stage work with Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company and a run as M in the James Bond film franchise. Her 2012 AMD diagnosis came during a period when she continued to take on major film roles, a pattern that her 2024 comments to NPR and "CBS Mornings" indicated was becoming harder to sustain as the disease progressed.

NBC News's report, sourced to the BBC Radio 4 broadcast, is the fullest account to date of how completely the condition has altered Dench's capacity to work, moving from the adaptations she described in 2024 to the flat statement of limits she gave the BBC this week.