Harry Potter star tells fans she 'doesn't have long left to live' after undergoing heart procedure

27 May 2025, 13:35

Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes. Picture: Alamy

By Henry Moore

Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes has told fans she “doesn’t have long to live” after undergoing a heart operation.

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Margolyes, best known as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter franchise, underwent a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in 2023.

Part of the procedure saw her heart valve being replaced by that of a cow.

This procedure has left the beloved actress fearing she just has six years to live.

Read more: Rod Stewart left 'absolutely flabbergasted' by surprise appearance of his children at music awards

Miriam underwent the procedure in 2023
Miriam underwent the procedure in 2023. Picture: Facebook / Miriam Margolyes

"When you know that you haven't got long to live – and I'm probably going to die within the next five or six years, if not before, I'm loath to leave behind performing,” she told The Times.

“It's such a joy.

“I yearn to play roles that don't confine me to wheelchairs, but I'm just not strong enough.

"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."

Explaining why she opted to undergo the procedure, she said: "I don't know how common it is. I'd never heard of that operation.

“But it saves you from having open heart surgery, which would be infinitely more invasive."

She added: "They made two little holes in your groin. One in each groin and then they shoved this thing through.

"And I don't know how they pull it up but they sort of pull it up with stereos. And then when it comes to the point, when it's in your heart, they pull a little string and it goes pow!

"And lo and behold, your artery or your aortic valve is shoved unceremoniously to the side."

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