With a career spanning over five decades and a personality as luminous as her name, Joanna Lumley is not one to fade quietly into the background.
Discover our latest podcast
At 78, she remains a force both on and off screen. But even the most radiant stars face the inevitability of time. In a moment of rare vulnerability, the Absolutely Fabulous icon recently admitted that she’s becoming more aware of her mortality.
'My time must be coming quite soon': Joanna Lumley opens up about ageing
Speaking with Mirror, Joanna Lumley candidly addressed her own mortality as she nears her 79th birthday. The veteran actress and comedian reflected on losing friends and feeling that she herself is approaching life’s final chapter. She said:
As you near the top of the hill you suddenly think, "Gosh, there’s not all that amount of time left."
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.
This reflection hasn’t made her fearful—on the contrary, Lumley says it’s energising. She shared:
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.
She encourages younger generations not to dread growing older, adding:
We mustn't be led into thinking getting old is bad. Growing old is good.
Ever the optimist, Lumley remains busy with projects, from 2024's Netflix drama Fool Me Once to her current ITV travel show traversing the River Danube. And of course, she’s turned heads once again with her cheeky portrayal of Felicity in the BBC’s Amandaland.
She also had a word of caution for the younger generation, lamenting the social skills crisis she believes social media is creating.
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.
The vegetarian secret: Why Joanna hasn't been ill in 40 years
While she faces the passage of time with grace, Lumley’s lifestyle choices have played a big role in her health and well-being. One of the key contributors? Her vegetarian diet.
According to Get Surrey, Lumley credits her impeccable health to a lifestyle choice she made in the 1970s: cutting out meat. While the transition wasn’t easy, she stuck to it—and says she hasn’t looked back since. She recalled on the Waitrose Dish podcast:
It was awful to begin with, going out to restaurants and dinner parties, because people didn't know what to do.
They'd panic and try to make you eight eggs and sort of lasagnes which just turned into huge slabs of concrete with something horrifying in between.
Now, vegetarianism is far more common, but Lumley remains grateful whenever someone cooks with her diet in mind. She said:
I'm so touched when anybody's done anything vegetarian for me.
She embraces a simple food philosophy:
The diet I love best is: eat stuff, mostly vegetables, not too much.
She’s even shared her own light-hearted take on exercise:
I have a tall thin house and I run up and down the stairs a lot!
Speaking to Table Manners, she reaffirmed:
I’ve been a vegetarian for more than 40 years and I’m never ill. I suddenly thought I was not going to do this anymore. I am not going to eat meat or fish. No more, finished, gone. But I am not a vegan. That is the next step, but I love cheese.
The benefits are hard to ignore. With millions in the UK turning to plant-based diets, Lumley’s vitality is a shining example of what thoughtful lifestyle changes can do.
Home life and new roles: Joanna’s world today
Her vegetarian lifestyle may keep her energised, but it’s her personal and professional life that continues to keep her inspired.
Behind the glamorous TV persona, Joanna Lumley leads a rich, grounded life. As Hello! Magazine reports, she lives with her husband of nearly 40 years, conductor Stephen Barlow. The pair, who first connected at a friend’s wedding, share a deep bond.
Stephen once said:
Jo looked amazing in a turquoise coat. I'd never seen anything so glamorous and statuesque.
Lumley remembered the moment vividly:
It was the impact of a colossal shock, completely memorable.
Despite her frequent travels, Lumley values independence in her marriage. On The Jonathan Ross Show, she revealed:
We are both independent. I love being on my own. When I'm away, I don't even phone home.
Incidentally I come from a different generation where we couldn't usually afford to phone home, so I've never been used to it. I like to write a postcard.
I won't phone, that takes your travelling head away from you… You don't want people to keep phoning. If you're on the other side of the world it's always the wrong time.
In 2024, she told Radio Times that respect is the foundation of their relationship. She said:
Respect your partner and always treat them as the most important person in the world.
Lumley is also a proud mother to Jamie Lumley, 57, who she once described as a 'miracle' after being told she couldn’t conceive. Now, she cherishes time with her granddaughters Alice and Emily. 'Absolute heaven,' she called their visits in an interview with Northern Echo.
As for her career, it’s far from slowing down. Her turn as Felicity in Amandaland has been met with fanfare. According to Daily Mail, viewers loved her portrayal of the posh and often clueless mother of Amanda. Lumley embraced the character’s outrageous lines with gusto, joking about the Me Too movement and reminiscing about her modelling days. she told the Waitrose Dish podcast:
What it was, was when Motherland was running... so I was, it was an afternoon, you go, "Yeah, be her mother.”
Now, as the show focuses on Amanda’s life post-divorce, Felicity’s role has expanded.
It’s lovely... I’m always a cruel granny, a savage old aunt - a wicked old stepmother. I am.
Still, Lumley welcomes the change in pace.
During the episodes you can see she’s kind of getting the horribleness rubbed off her edges a bit. She’s also getting slightly gaga, I think, actually.
At nearly 79, Joanna Lumley continues to enchant and entertain, living proof that age can be as fabulous as you make it.
Read more:
Tony Blackburn has been on air for 60 years and he's not ready to retire: 'What’s to give up?'
Pam St Clement: Why she left EastEnders and what she's doing now
Sources used
Mirror: Joanna Lumley admits she doesn't have "much time left" as she opens up about losing friends
Get Surrey: Joanna Lumley says she's "not been ill" for 40 years thanks to one diet change
Hello! Magazine: Joanna Lumley's life away from the cameras – from music star husband to "miracle" son
Daily Mail: Amandaland viewers hail Joanna Lumley as the star of Motherland spinoff
