79-year-old Vanessa Redgrave recently admitted she wished to die after suffering a heart attack back in 2015.
The near-fatal incident left the British actress disillusioned, she admitted to The Guardian newspaper.
When asked if she thought this would mark the end of her life, Redgrave said: “At the time? When I was in hospital I wanted to die.” She proceeded to explain that trying to remain alive was increasingly tiring.
“I was with my daughter, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I just think I’m going to have to give up,’ – knowing she’d be unhappy, of course. And she was wonderful.”
The actress then admitted that her daughter Joely gave her the strength to live by giving her permission to give up, as this is what she wished.
When asked how Joely encouraged her, she said: “By telling me I could. Her saying I could give up released me.”
She continued, “I told her what I thought I had to do … just give up. But I had to tell her that because I guess it’s my psychology. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I knew it would hurt her.”
A self-confessed Marxist, Redgrave also explained how her faith encouraged her to keep living.
“Certainly I do [have faith]. And the reason why I do is because I don’t consider science and religion two fixed opposites. Human beings have felt the need to explain things that they couldn’t explain, and acknowledge the existence of things they can’t explain but want to.”
The actress further added: “If you’re not happy to embrace contradictions, you’re not going to get very far in understanding anything.”