Carey Mulligan is terrified she's going to develop dementia

Speaking at the Alzheimer's Society annual conference in London on Wednesday (23.05.18), Carey said: "Recently, I was asked if I fear dementia. My answer was yes - but this isn't a bad thing, because fear propels me into action. Action to make change happen. To change life for the better and, intimately, find a cure.

"The misconception that the symptoms people with dementia display, such as memory loss and confusion, are just an unfortunate consequence of old age is extremely damaging. It creates stigma, it isolates and marginalises people with the condition and their families and it slows us down in our search for a cure.

"If this is just something that happens to the unlucky, if this is just granny losing her marbles then why bother to find a cure?

"It's crucial we understand it is a disease we need to fight through care, research and drug development funding in the same way that we fight diabetes or cancer."

The 'Great Gatsby' star - who has two children with her husband Marcus Mumford - is a UK ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society's Global Dementia Friends.

She added: "I have seen people rush past or tut at people with dementia who may take a little longer to navigate ticket barriers or checkouts.

"This kind of ignorance and mistreatment can leave a person living with the condition even more confused, anxious and fearful to even leave their homes."

Carey has previously opened up about her grandmother's devastating 16-year battle with dementia and how by the time she was in her mid-20s she barely spoke to her.

She said at the time: "The progression of the disease meant that by the time I was in my mid-twenties she wasn't able to communicate much beyond a few words, and largely in Welsh, her mother tongue."