Harry Potter star asks to be 'put down' if declining health continues after sharing with fans she 'doesn’t have long left to live'
A Harry Potter star has stated she wants to be 'put down' after sharing with fans she 'doesn't have long left to live'.
The 84-year-old iconic actress from the UK, who brought to life Professor Sprout in the wizarding movie series, has made a candid admission that she's struggling at the moment.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Miriam Margolyes said she's battling multiple health conditions and confessed to feeling like she's 'let [her] body down'.
"I haven’t taken care of it. I have to walk with a walker now. I wish I’d done exercise. It’s the most ghastly waste of time, except that it keeps you going. So, I’m foolish," she quipped.
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It's not the first time The Age of Innocence star has given insight into her health, long talking about her diagnosis of spinal stenosis and osteoporosis which has restricted her mobility.
In July 2024, Margolyes told Closer Magazine: "I can’t walk very well, and I’m registered disabled.
"I use all kinds of assistance. I’ve got two sticks and a walker and they’re such a bore, but I’ve just got a mobility scooter, which is a lot of fun."
She also told The Telegraph last year that she hasn't 'got long to live', grimly estimating she will die 'within the next five or six years, if not before'.
The celeb, who also has Australian citizenship and hopes to relocate permanently to the Italian home she shares with her partner of almost 60 years, Heather Sunderland, has now revealed to Weekend Magazine that she'd be open to assisted dying if she eventually does lose her independence due to poor health.
"I don’t want to go through a slowly diminishing period of pain and embarrassment. If a stroke meant I couldn’t speak, or I was doubly incontinent, or I lost my mind completely, I would ask to be put down. That’s because I want to be who I am. I don’t want to be less than I can be," she said.
Assisted dying is available in more than 10 states in the US but is not currently legal in the UK, where Margolyes resides.
However, the British government debated the matter and voted in favor of a bill that would legalize the route for terminally ill adults aged 18 and over.
If passed, the 'Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill' stipulates that only those who are mentally competent and have six months or less left to live have the right to end their lives with medical assistance, and must be approved by doctors and a panel including a social worker, legal figure and psychiatrist.
It is also different from euthanasia because patients can administer the drugs themselves, rather than a doctor.
However, while Margolyes has made the frank admission, she is in characteristically good spirits about it, joking about her quirky lifestyle and diet choices over the years.
"I've limited my life because of my longing for fudge or chopped liver, cheesecake," she previously confessed on the How to Fail podcast. "All these absurdities. I shouldn't have been so greedy. I should have been stronger."
Topics: Harry Potter, Health, Celebrity, UK News, Film and TV
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