Miriam Margolyes, beloved for her role as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series, has shared her ongoing health challenges. She attributed many of them to her lifelong struggle with weight.
In an interview with Weekend Magazine, the 84-year-old actress reflected on the toll her lifestyle has taken on her body.
“I’ve let my body down,” she said. “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.”
When asked if she had considered using Ozempic, Margolyes firmly rejected the idea.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “That’s for diabetics. You shouldn’t take medicine meant for people who are really sick. What I do think is we should not have food advertising on television.”
Health setbacks
In May 2023, Miriam Margolyes was hospitalized with a chest infection at the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, London. From her hospital bed, she updated fans on Facebook following a heart procedure
“Thanks to my precious friends who thought of me on TAVI DAY,” she wrote. “I did survive and am still in The Royal Brompton Hospital certainly till Sunday. I am growing energy but it’s still not quite me. I am putting this so you know how grateful I am for lovely messages.”
The “TAVI” she referred to was a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation, a less invasive alternative to open-heart surgery.
In a later appearance on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware, Margolyes explained, “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,” she admitted. “But it saves you from having open heart surgery, which would be infinitely more invasive.”
In addition to her heart condition, Margolyes also suffers from spinal stenosis, a condition that causes narrowing of the spinal canal and can result in chronic pain and limited mobility.
Speaking to Closer Magazine in 2023, she described the daily challenges she faces.
“I can’t walk very well, and I’m registered disabled,” Maroglyes said. “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.”
