Dame Joanna Lumley has opened up about something most of us try not to think too hard about — our own mortality, and her honesty is as refreshing as ever. Now 78, she says she’s more aware than ever that time isn’t limitless, and that knowledge is driving her to make every day count.
“As you near the top of the hill, you suddenly think, ‘Gosh, there’s not all that amount of time left,’” she said. “All kinds of my beloved friends are beginning to leave. My time must be coming quite soon and I don’t want to have wasted a minute of being on this beautiful planet”, reported The Mirror.
Rather than slowing down, she’s throwing herself into life and work with even more gusto. Her schedule is packed — just this year she’s been on our screens in the BBC comedy Amandaland and appeared in the Netflix thriller Fool Me Once. And now she’s back with another stunning ITV travel series, this time following the River Danube across its 1,770-mile journey through Europe.
Joanna’s never been one to mope about ageing. In fact, she’s always embraced it — and is encouraging the rest of us to do the same. “I used to panic when I was young, but as I’ve got older I’ve started literally to live day to day. With age, you work out what matters,” she told My Weekly.
“I always knew that good stuff would come along when I was older. When I was 18, I longed to be 30. When I was 30, I longed to be 50. We mustn’t be led into thinking getting old is bad. Growing old is good.”
And it’s not just about making the most of her time — Joanna also had a few words of wisdom for the younger generation. She’s worried that teenagers are missing out on real connections thanks to the digital world taking over. “My big message to the young is that you need time in your head. I’m so afraid we’re going to breed a generation who don’t know the world and don’t know how to talk.”
With a career that’s spanned everything from Absolutely Fabulous to The Wolf of Wall Street, she’s done it all — and done it in style. But it’s her perspective on life, and the way she’s choosing to face getting older, that might be her most inspiring role yet.
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