December 9, 2024, is a big day for Dame Judi Dench: she turns 90 years old. While speaking with The Times, the actor discussed what reaching this milestone feels like and revealed how she spends her days. She also shared a part of her life that helps her stay young – and its her sassy pet parrot!
Judi Dench still has full days
As Judi Dench enters her tenth decade, some might think her life is slowing down, but she says it’s actually the opposite. Every day, the actor has fun things to do. “I’m doing a mass of things. I’ve been doing something every single day this week,” she said.
While she may not be prepping to run a marathon, Dench’s days are still quite busy. “I go and paint on a Tuesday evening … I’ve been given some clay and so I’m teaching myself a bit of that,” she explained. “What else do I do? I play Bananagrams [the word game]. I’m an absolute fiend at it. And then there’s a very good card game called B***h that we play.”
What does turning 90 mean to her?
When discussing getting older, Judi Dench said she tries her best to remain grateful for her life, as she’s lost several friends. “I think you’re lucky to be 90,” she explained. “My two great, great friends, Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Maggie Smith, have just dropped off the bough in the last four weeks or so, and that’s not good. I’m able to at least get from A to B and walk about and, golly, I’ve got a great deal to be grateful for.”
When it comes to thinking about her age, Dench said she honestly just tries to avoid it. “It’s just that you get a bit nervous when everybody says 90. I don’t want to think of 90 much, I’m going to think about [turning] 29,” she said.
The actor also tries to remain positive about life, as the state of the world weighs down on her. “There’s no point having a non-positive attitude,” she stated. “Especially these days when there’s so much to be very, very, very concerned about.”
Judi Dench’s pet parrot helps to keep her young
Another aspect of Judi Dench’s life that helps to keep her young is her pet. She has an African grey parrot named Sweetie that speaks to her throughout the day and has some interesting things to say. As she explained, her parrot is constantly calling her “s**t” and “s**g.”
“She says: ‘You’re a s**t’, ‘you’re a s**g,'” Dench shared. “She has said ‘Boris Johnson,’ but she didn’t get that from me.”
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Sweetie brings the actor a lot of happiness, and she recommends that others get a parrot. “She listens to the radio. My God, she’s funny though. She’s very, very funny,” she revealed to The Times. “Everybody should have a parrot, or a myna bird. Their voices are absolutely incredible.”