Miriam Margolyes reveals she ‘doesn’t have long to live’ following heart surgery
She doesn’t expect to live longer than another five or six years
National treasure Miriam Margolyes has revealed that she “doesn’t have long to live” following the heart surgery she underwent in 2023.
The actress, who turned 84 on May 18, said in a new interview that she expects to die “within the next five or six years”.
She added that she wants to keep acting, but might not be able to do so for much longer.
Miriam required heart surgery in 2023 (Credit: ITV)
‘I’m not strong enough’
Miriam, known for roles in the likes of Harry Potter and Call the Midwife, told The Times: “When you know that you haven’t got long to live – and I’m probably going to die within the next five or six years, if not before – I’m loath to leave behind performing. It’s such a joy.
“I yearn to play roles that don’t confine me to wheelchairs, but I’m just not strong enough.”
I yearn to play roles that don’t confine me to wheelchairs, but I’m just not strong enough.
‘I’ve got a cow’s heart now’
In 2023, Miriam had an aortic valve that was no longer functioning properly replaced with a valve from a cow. This saved her from more invasive open heart surgery.
On Jessie and Lennie Ware’s Table Manners podcast last year, she shared: “I’ve got a cow’s heart now – well, not the whole heart. I’ve had an aortic valve replaced by a cow’s aortic valve.
“I don’t know how common it is. I’d never heard of that operation. But it saves you from having open heart surgery, which would be infinitely more invasive.”
Miriam has moved in with her partner of over 50 years (Credit: ITV)
Miriam worries about running out of money to pay for carers
Miriam is registered as disabled and uses walking sticks and a mobility scooter – she’s had spinal stenosis, arthritis and rheumatism over the years.
Last year, she told the Radio Times that she was concerned she may run out of money to pay for carers, explaining: “I’m worried that I won’t have enough money for carers when I finally get paralysed or whatever it is that’s going to happen to me. I’m saving up cash so that I can pay people to look after me and my partner.
“We don’t have children, so I need to make sure I’m going to be looked after in the way that I’ve become accustomed.”
In 2023, she revealed that she was moving in with her partner of over 50 years for the first time.
She and Heather Sutherland had never lived together. However, Miriam said on The Graham Norton Show: “We are together, but we live apart. She is in Amsterdam, and I am in London, but now we want to live together. I really do want to live with her because we are old, and we haven’t got much time left. It is silly to live apart.”
News
For Four Years, I Restored My Family’s Life With My Money. But When They Came To My City And Still Refused To See Me, I Found The Crack That Couldn’t Be Repaired.k
# I Stopped Setting the Table for People Who Never Came My name is Sophia Taylor, and for most of my life, I mistook being useful for being loved. That is not the kind of truth a person admits easily….
The Waitress Took His Cruel Bet In Silence. But When She Returned In Red, The Man Who Mocked Her Learned She Already Owned Half His World.k
# The Waitress in Red Alex Carrington believed every room changed when he entered it. That was the first thing Elena Marlowe noticed about him. Not his tailored navy suit, though it fit him like it had been stitched onto…
The Little Girl Never Opened The Takeout Box. But When He Followed Her Into The Dark, He Found Out Why She Had Been Lying Every Night.k
The man thought he was giving away dinner. Just one white takeout box. Just one warm meal handed to one hungry little girl standing outside a restaurant, watching strangers eat through the glass as if she had forgotten what it…
The Wheelchair Hid What The Little Girl Was Too Scared To Say. But When The Water Hit Her Legs, Her Father Finally Saw The Truth.k
The first thing Daniel Reeves heard when he stepped out of the car was his daughter screaming. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just one broken little sound, caught between fear and shame, the kind of sound a child makes when…
The Doghouse Kept The Children’s Screams Hidden. But When Their Father Found One Tiny Shoe Inside, His Wife’s Deadliest Secret Came Out.k
The first thing Daniel Whitmore noticed when he stepped through the golden gates was the silence. Not peace. Not the soft, expensive quiet that usually floated around the estate like perfume. This silence was different. It had weight. It…
The Little Girl Had Only Eleven Cents And A Promise. But When A Hotdog Vendor Fed Her Anyway, The Whole City Discovered Who She Really Was.k
The little girl had only three coins, and she counted them like they were all that stood between her and disappearing forever. Two nickels. One penny. Eleven cents. They rested in the center of her dirty palm, small and…
End of content
No more pages to load
