Joanna Lumley predicts she doesn’t have much ‘time left’ in frank conversation about mortality

30 April 2025, 11:28

The Absolutely Fabulous star opened up about ageing in a recent interview.

Joanna Lumley has shared that she feels her “time must be coming quite soon".

Speaking with My Weekly magazine (via The Independent), the 78-year-old national treasure gave her frank thoughts on the subject of her own mortality while celebrating her illustrious career.

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“As you near the top of the hill you suddenly think: ‘Gosh, there’s not all that amount of time left,’” Joanna said.

Reflecting on how several of her “beloved friends are beginning to leave,” she added: “My time must be coming quite soon, and I don’t want to have wasted a minute of being on this beautiful planet.”

The Absolutely Fabulous and The New Avengers star has certainly been making the most of life recently, filming hit shows like Fool Me Once, Amandaland, and the upcoming Wednesday season two.

“I used to panic when I was young, but as I’ve got older I’ve started literally to live day to day,” Joanna revealed, discussing her mentality on life now that she’s hit her late-70s.

“With age, you work out what matters,” she added. “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, longed to be 50. We mustn’t be led into thinking getting old is bad,” she stressed.

“Growing old is good.”

In her recent interview, Joanna also gave advice to young people today, suggesting that 21st-century young adults need to spend more time away from social media.

“You need time in your head,” she advised, “I’m so afraid we’re going to breed a generation who don’t know the world and don’t know how to talk.”