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Judi Dench

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Dame Judi Dench
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Dench in Tea with Mussolini (1999)
Born
Judith Olivia Dench

Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE (born 9 December 1934) known as Dame Judi Dench, is an Academy Award-winning English actress. In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as arguably the greatest actress in post-World War II history, primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her main forte throughout her career. She has more than once come first in polls to find Britain's best actress.[1] [2] Furthermore, she gained worldwide popular fame when she took over the role of M when the James Bond film series restarted in 1995.

Biography

Early & personal life

Dench was born in York, North Yorkshire to Reginald Arthur Dench and Olave and was raised a Quaker. Her notable relatives include Emma Dench, eminent Roman historian at Birkbeck, University of London. When Dench was thirteen, she entered The Mount School, York. In 1971 she married British actor Michael Williams and they had their only child, Tara Cressida Williams (aka "Finty Williams"), on 24 September, 1972. Their daughter later became an actor like her parents. Dame Judi starred with her husband in the 1980s British sitcom, A Fine Romance. Michael Williams died of lung cancer, aged 65, in 2001. She is a patron of The Leaveners, Friends' School Saffron Walden[3] and the Archway Theatre, Horley, UK.

Career

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Dench as Jean Pargetter

She received her dramatic training at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and made her professional debut as Ophelia in Hamlet in Liverpool in 1957. She subsequently spent several seasons in repertory in Oxford and Nottingham. In 1961, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and made numerous appearances with the company in Stratford and London over the next two decades, winning several best actress awards.

Dench has also made numerous appearances in the West End and with the National Theatre in London. She is a multiple winner of the main awards for performances on the London stage, including a record six Laurence Olivier Awards. She has also appeared with success on Broadway in Amy's Room,and has occasionally directed plays.

As she enters her seventies, Dame Judi remains probably the biggest draw on the London stage. She is often compared and contrasted with Dame Maggie Smith, another British actress of the same generation, with whom she has appeared in several movies, including the 2004 Ladies in Lavender, and on stage in David Hare's two-hander Breath of Life. She returned to the West End stage in April 2006 in Hay Fever alongside Peter Bowles, Belinda Lang and Kim Medcalf.

Her many television appearances include lead roles in the series As Time Goes By and A Fine Romance. Dench was created an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1970, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1988. She was made a Companion of Honour (CH) in 2005. In 2000-2001 she received an Honorary DLitt from Durham University.

Dame Judi Dench, has frequently appeared with her close friend Geoffrey Palmer in the series As Time Goes By and in the films Mrs. Brown and Tomorrow Never Dies, both filmed in 1997.

Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Elizabeth I in the film Shakespeare in Love. That same year, Australian actress Cate Blanchett was also nominated in the lead actress category for portraying the same character. Dench's win was notable as her performance in Shakespeare in Love lasted for about eight minutes, and that two actresses playing the same role were both nominated in the same year. Other roles have had multiple nominations in Oscar history, including: Mafia chieftain Don Vito Corleone, also by two different actors. Some actors have been nominated more than once for the same role, including poolshark "Fast Eddie" Felson (Paul Newman), Fr. O'Malley (Bing Crosby), Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and King Henry II (Peter O'Toole).

Selected filmography

James Bond

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Dench as M in GoldenEye

In 1995 she was cast in the role of a brand-new M in the James Bond series, going on to appear in five films to date and has been confirmed for a sixth film due out in November 2008:

She has also lent her voice for the role of M in four James Bond video games:

Selected discography

Selected awards and recognition

Theatre

Film and television

Preceded by Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1998
for Shakespeare in Love 		Succeeded by
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