Judi Dench Blindness: Star Says She's Fighting To Keep Her Vision

LONDON -- Actress Judi Dench is battling to save her sight.

The James Bond star said in an interview published Saturday that she had been diagnosed with macular degeneration, an eye condition which can cause blindness, and that her eyesight was already so bad that she couldn't even read her own scripts.

The 77-year-old told the Daily Mirror that she was relying on friends and family to keep her up to speed with her lines.

"It's usually my daughter or my agent or a friend and actually I like that, because I sit there and imagine the story in my mind," she told the newspaper during an interview at a London hotel. "The most distressing thing is in a restaurant in the evening I can't see the person I'm having dinner with."

The Mirror didn't say exactly where or when the interview took place. Messages left for Dench's agent were not immediately returned Saturday.

Dench made her Shakespearean debut in 1957 at London's Old Vic and has since taken on a vast number of theater, film and television roles.

She won an Academy Award for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in "Shakespeare in Love" and is best known to international audiences as intelligence boss M in the James Bond series.

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Comments

[Mac1000]

04:06 PM on 02/21/2012

Best wishes, Judi. You're the best!

[StopMakingSense2]

02:48 PM on 02/21/2012

Needless to say getting old sucks! Best wishes, fight the good fight!

[scorpian777]

11:13 AM on 02/21/2012

Oooops made a mistake with the spelling I stand corrected!! Judi!! ( Sorry )

[scorpian777]

11:12 AM on 02/21/2012

Hope & Pray all goes well for Judy! Keep the Faith!!!!

[truthFORauthorityNOTaft]

08:01 AM on 02/21/2012

That would be terrible. Even today I'll watch "As time goes by" for a little pick me up. She is a great dramatic and comedic actress.

Macular degeneration happens with age and is very common. They have come up with some wonder drugs for it lately but they don't work on everyone. I hope she has a great support system so she can enjoy life and so that we can see more of her acting!

[carl99e]

07:31 AM on 02/21/2012

Hopefully she is not on a Statin. It is a little known fact that this class of drug can cause macular degeneration, and actually there is a long list of "side effects" which few people, even doctors, are familiar with. I heard where there are currently 250,000 law suits against the pharma companies that produce these drugs for damaging side affects.

[Catsinthecradle]

01:48 PM on 02/21/2012

This is very true about the statin drugs. However, the biggest cause of AMD is by far and large smoking cigarettes. Of course everyone knows about how smoking narrows the arteries in the body and is bad for the heart and lungs, etc. Actually, it is bad for the circulatory system in general and this includes the yes. There are delicate arteries supplying blood to the eyes. Ninety percent of AMD is caused by smoking.

[ForVivi]

04:24 AM on 02/21/2012

A class act! I don't get tired of watching her as "Jean Pargetter" in the series"As Time Goes By".

[Diana Scrimger]

10:36 PM on 02/20/2012

Hoping instead that it was only cataracts. I do not know to much about this condition. Could she get a second opinion about this disease?

[Catsinthecradle]

02:00 AM on 02/21/2012

I don't think so, as I am sure she has access to the best in medical care. Any competent doctor would immediately know the difference. Macular destroys the central part of the vision. Cataracts make the entire visual field cloudy. My mother had it.

[gialla]

09:05 PM on 02/20/2012

She will handle this with all the grace or grit she shows in every role she is in.

[jalaroc]

07:13 PM on 02/20/2012

I see no reason why they can't work her vision problems into her james bond character.

[dacenar]

10:45 PM on 02/20/2012

Oh I am sure she could be as blind as a bat and they could make her seem like shes not in the movies. She's a great actress.

[King7David]

06:08 PM on 02/20/2012

I really like this young lady, and I love her in James Bond. I hope she makes out well.

[Angelmagik2]

05:57 PM on 02/20/2012

So sorry I hope she can get treatment to help

[Red45]

02:49 PM on 02/20/2012

She's one of the greatest living actors today. I hope her macular degeneration stops progressing and she can find effective treatment for it so we can continue to enjoy her awesome acting ability.

[MIvoter1231]

02:17 PM on 02/20/2012

I wish her all the luck in the world. I would hate to think that those expressive eyes would damaged so badly that she would no longer be able to see the faces of happy fans who love her work.

[BuckyJamesDio]

10:13 PM on 02/20/2012

Well said.

[Christine Ehlers]

01:59 PM on 02/20/2012

Judi Dench?Macular Degeneration
Superior Macular doctor/surgeon in Gramercy Pak, NY, New York Eye and Ear, and Fort Lee NJ. "Angioletti Retina Associates". He is world renowned. " Dr. Louis Vincent Angioletti". God bless Judi. Wish her the very best. If there is anyone who could help her, it would be this particular doctor.
Christine Schmutz [e-mail]