Joanna Lumley admits ‘I don’t have much longer left’ after tragedies

Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley says she thinks about mortality a lot after losing a number of her friends, but feels more energized to carry on enjoying life

ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND - APRIL 26: Dame Joanna Lumley attends a photocall during the Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews on April 26, 2025 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images for University of St Andrews)

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Dame Joanna Lumley says she often thinks about mortality(Image: Roberto Ricciuti, Getty Images for University of St Andrews)

Joanna Lumley admits “there’s not a lot of time left” as she believes getting older has made her more energetic.

The 78-year-old actor and comedian admits she thinks a lot about her own mortality. Speaking to the Mirror, Joanna 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.”

Joanna is so determined to life life to the full that her work diary remains jam-packed. This year she has starred in BBC comedy Amandaland and in 2024 she appeared in the critically-acclaimed Netflix drama Fool Me Once.

Her latest TV project, a travel series for ITV, saw her exploring the 1,770-mile lenght of the River Danube. Joanna says she “always knew” good projects would come along as she got older.

Dame Joanna Lumley

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Joanna still looks fabulous at the age of 78(Image: Getty)

Speaking to My Weekly, the star said: “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.

“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. Growing old is good.”

Joanna also has a message for the younger generation. She warned that social media has meant teenagers won’t know how to interact with each other.

Joanna Lumley

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Joanna Lumley continues to have a jam-packed schedule at 78(Image: Getty)

She said: “My big message to the young 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.”

Joanna’s glistening TV and film career has seen her appearing on a string of hit shows ranging from The New Avengers and Sapphire and Steel to Absolutely Fabulous, Finding Alice and Motherland. Her early acting career began in the Swinging 60s when she was cast in as one of Ken Barlow’s first girlfriends on Coronation Street.

Joanna’s film career has seen her working alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the Wolf of Wall Street and appearing in Paddington 2. The star was made a Dame in 2022 for services to drama, entertainment and charity.

Away from the screen, Joanna is married to conductor Stephen Barlow, 70. She is a devoted mum to son Jamie, 57, and she has two granddaughters, Alice, 22, and Emily, 21.