Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench CH DBE FRSA (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actresses,[1][2][3] she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage.[4] Dench has garnered various accolades throughout a career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards and seven Olivier Awards.
Judi Dench
Actress
1957–present
David Mills (2010–present)
- Jeffery Dench (brother)
- Emma Dench (niece)
- Rebekah Elmaloglou (cousin)
- Sebastian Elmaloglou (cousin)
- Oliver Dench (great-nephew)
Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she performed in several of Shakespeare's plays, in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Although most of Dench's work during this period was in theatre, she also branched into film work and won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer. In 1968, she drew excellent reviews for her leading role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret. Over the next two decades Dench established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
She received critical acclaim for her work on television during this period, in the ITV comedy series A Fine Romance (1981–1984) and the BBC1 romantic series As Time Goes By (1992–2005), in both of which she held starring roles. Her film appearances were infrequent and included supporting roles in major films, such as James Ivory's A Room with a View (1985), before she rose to international fame as M in GoldenEye (1995), a role she went on to play in eight James Bond films, until her final cameo appearance in Spectre (2015).
An eight-time Academy Award nominee, Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998); her other Oscar-nominated roles are for Mrs Brown (1997), Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Philomena (2013), and Belfast (2021). She is also the recipient of several honorary awards, including the BAFTA Fellowship Award, the Society of London Theatre Special Award, and the British Film Institute Fellowship Award.
Early life and education[edit]
Judith Olivia Dench was born in the Heworth area of York on 9 December 1934,[5][6] the daughter of an Irish mother and English father. Her mother, Eleanora Olive (née Jones) (1897–1983), was born in Dublin; her father, Reginald Arthur Dench MC & Bar (1897–1964), was a doctor from Dorset who grew up primarily in Dublin and who fought on the Western Front in World War I.[7][8] Her parents met while studying at Wesley College, Dublin.[9][10]
In October 2021, Dench was the subject of BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are?, where it was revealed that she is descended from the Bille family of Danish aristocrats, and Steen Andersen Bille (1624–1698), the illegitimate son of Anders Steensen Bille (1578–1633),[11] as well as Claus Bille (1490–1558), a grandfather of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). Judi is also distantly related to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, as both descended from Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth.[12] She is also a cousin of Greek-Australian actors Rebekah Elmaloglou and Sebastian Elmaloglou.[13] Her niece, Emma Dench, is a historian of ancient Rome.[14]
Dench attended the Mount School, a Quaker independent secondary school in York, and became a Quaker.[15][16] She had two elder brothers named Peter (1925–2017) and Jeffery (1928–2014), the latter of whom also became an actor.[15][16]
Through her parents, Dench had regular contact with the theatre: her father was the GP for York Theatre Royal, and her mother was its wardrobe mistress.[17] Actors often stayed in the Dench household. During these years, Judi Dench was involved on a non-professional basis in the first three productions of the modern revival of the York Mystery Plays in 1951, 1954 and 1957.[18] In the third production she played the role of the Virgin Mary, performed on a fixed stage in the Museum Gardens.[19]
Though she initially trained as a set designer, she became interested in drama school as her brother Jeff attended the Central School of Speech and Drama.[17] She was also inspired by seeing Peggy Ashcroft play Cleopatra on stage, which she later said "changed my life".[20] She applied and was accepted by the Central School, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London, where she was a classmate of Vanessa Redgrave, graduating and being awarded four acting prizes, including the Gold Medal as Outstanding Student.[17]
Public image[edit]
In March 2013, Dench was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed over-50s by The Guardian.[159] One of the highest-profile actresses in British popular culture, Dench appeared on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK.[160]
Among her numerous accolades for her acting work, Dench has won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in the romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love (1998). She has received five Best Actress nominations, and three Best Supporting Actress nominations. She also has earned six British Academy Film Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Tony Award, and seven Laurence Olivier Awards.
Over her distinguished career she has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the following performances:
Dench was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1970 Birthday Honours[197] and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1988 New Year Honours.[198] She was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2005 Birthday Honours.[199] She has also earned a variety of scholastic, Commonwealth, and honorary awards, titles, and degrees.