'I'd want to die if I got Alzheimer's': Britt Ekland fears developing the disease like her late mother because it was 'too horrible for words'
- The former Bond girl, who is an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society, said she would 'will herself dead' rather than develop the disease
- Her late mother Mae-Britt was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 67
- Miss Ekland said suffering an illness she 'can't control' is her greatest fear
Britt Ekland has told how she would consider taking her own life if she ever developed Alzheimer’s disease.
The 70-year-old former Bond girl, whose mother suffered from the illness, said she would ‘will herself dead’, rather than face a similar fate.
Miss Ekland, who is an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society, said suffering an illness that she ‘can’t control’ was her greatest fear.
Emotional turmoil: Britt Eckland, 70, whose beloved mother Mae-Britt suffered from Alzheimer's, said she would 'will herself dead' rather than face a similar fate
‘My mum got it in her fifties and was 78 when she died,’ she said. ‘That makes no sense. The rest of her was incredibly healthy. If that happened to me I would will myself dead.
'I would say I want to die, I want to die, and He upstairs would have to listen to me because my mum’s illness was too horrible for words.'
Fear: Miss Ekland, who is an ambassador for the Alzheimer¿s Society, said suffering an illness that she 'can't control' was her greatest fear
Speaking in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, she added: ‘There are things you can do - like take them out all winter so they catch pneumonia then do nothing - but we didn’t do that. It would be horrifying if my kids kept me alive like we kept my mum alive.’
It was January 1984 when Mae-Britt Ekland was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 67. She died in May 1995.
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In the last few weeks of her life, she was unable to chew or swallow and the doctors explained to Britt and her brothers that feeding her with a tube would simply prolong her suffering. Miss Ekland has admitted that in the end the family let her starve to death.
In the past, Miss Ekland has said: ‘It took her two weeks to die of starvation.
‘In the last four days, she had no water and she simply lay on her side in the foetal position until she finally gave up the fight to live.
‘At the end she was nothing more than a tiny bag of bones with the skin hanging off her. My beautiful mother didn’t deserve that. No one does.’
Miss Ekland, is best known for her roles in the 1974 Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun and 1973 cult horror movie The Wicker Man.
The actress first found fame in Britain in 1964 when she married the actor Peter Sellers, who was 17 years her senior, after a ten-day courtship.
Heartbreak: Miss Eckland's mother was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 67. She died in May 1995. Above, the former actress is seen shopping with Mae-Britt ahead of her wedding to Peter Sellers
They divorced four years later and the Swedish actress went on to date some of the world’s most eligible bachelors, including Rod Stewart and Warren Beatty.
She is not the only celebrity who has publicly discussed ending their life if they developed dementia.
Sir Cliff Richard said he’d discussed the illness with one of his sisters after watching their mother Dorothy suffer with the disease for ten years.
He also revealed he had made a pact with the same sister to look after each other if they developed dementia.
He revealed: ‘I said, look if this happens to me, I’ll do the same for you if you’ll do it for me, don’t let it go on too long.’
In her prime: Miss Ekland is best known for her role in the 1974 Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun (left). Right, The actress poses with her husband Peter Seller
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