Judi Dench
One of Britain's greatest actresses, known for seven decades of stage and screen work, including her iconic role as M in the James Bond series.
She is widely regarded as one of Britain's greatest actresses, with a career spanning seven decades and accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and multiple BAFTAs.[1]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Judith Olivia Dench
- Born
- 9 December 1934
- Birthplace
- Heworth, North Yorkshire, England
- Occupation
- Actress, voice actress
- Years active
- 1957–present
- Education
- Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
- Partner
- David Mills (2010–present)
- Children
- Finty Williams
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
She took over the role of M in the James Bond film series starting with GoldenEye in 1995, becoming the first woman to portray the character.[2] Her first starring film role was as Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown (1997), which earned her a BAFTA and an Academy Award nomination.[3] After her husband Michael Williams died of lung cancer in January 2001, Dench immediately returned to work on The Shipping News, crediting acting as her rescue.[4][5] She made her seventh and final appearance as M in Skyfall (2012), which became the highest-grossing film in the James Bond series.[6][7]
In September 1957, Dench's first professional stage appearance occurred when she played Ophelia in Hamlet with the Old Vic Company at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool.[8] The role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret was offered to Dench in 1968; she was so afraid of singing publicly that she auditioned from the wings.[9] For her eight-minute portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998), Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[10]
What the cited sources add
An Irish Examiner article from 2012 reports that Dench said acting "rescued" her after her husband's death, and that grief supplied her with "an enormous amount of energy" to keep working.[5] A BBC News article from 2002 states that Dench was originally cast as Grizabella in Cats but had to withdraw due to a torn Achilles tendon, with Elaine Paige taking over.[11] An Observer interview from 2012 records that Dench has only taken time off from work twice in six decades: to give birth to her daughter and to care for her late husband.[12] In that same interview, Dench recalled that at her first screen test, a man told her she had "every single thing wrong with your face"[12]
The Observer also notes that Dench was voted "the greatest actor of all time" in a poll of readers of The Stage magazine.[12] The same article notes she went to Nova Scotia almost immediately after her husband's funeral to film The Shipping News.[5]
References
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dowd, "Queen! Bow Down to Tattoo-Flashing Octogenarian Dame Dench", The New York Times, 21 September 2017; Staff and agencies, "Hopkins and Dench named best British actors", The Guardian, 18 August 2005; "Connery and Dench Top Legend Poll", Time Out Group, 25 February 2005; Brooks, "Judi Dench: 'In my mind's eye I'm six foot and willowy and about 39'", The Irish Times, 26 January 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: West, "Historical dictionary of Ian Fleming's world of intelligence: fact and fiction", Scarecrow Press, 2010, p. 45; Rimington, "Open secret: the autobiography of the former Director-General of MI5", Arrow Books, 2008, p. 244; MacDonald, "Her majesty's not-so-secret service", BookPage; Morris, "Woman tipped to head MI5 in footsteps of Stella Rimington", The Independent (London), 30 April 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Mrs Brown (1997)", Rotten Tomatoes; "Festival de Cannes: Mrs Brown", festival-cannes.com; "Awards for Judi Dench", Internet Movie Database; "Here's the actual story about Judi Dench getting a fake 'tattoo' of Harvey Weinstein's name on her 'bum'", Business Insider UK, 9 October 2017; "Judi Dench gets first tattoo for her 81st birthday", BBC News, 30 June 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dench: Acting 'rescued' me following husband's death", Irish Examiner, 15 October 2012 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Dench: Acting 'rescued' me following husband's death", Irish Examiner, 15 October 2012. facts only, no text reused. irishexaminer.com
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, "What M did next: Judi Dench tries cyber-flirting in low-budget indie film", The Independent, 9 November 2012; Rawden, "Judi Dench Always Has To Correct One Fact About Her Time On The James Bond Movies", Cinema Blend, 5 January 2018; Coyle, "Judi Dench On Skyfall & Her Reign As M", The Huffington Post, 9 November 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McCartney, "Older and wiser", The Sunday Telegraph, 28 October 2012, p. 19 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Miller, "Judi Dench: With A Crack In Her Voice", Hachette UK, 2013, p. 30 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morley, "The great stage stars: distinguished theatrical careers of the past and present", Angus & Robertson, 1986 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Judi Dench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "FILM REVIEW: Shakespeare Saw a Therapist", The New York Times, 11 December 1998; "Awards for Judi Dench", Internet Movie Database; "1998 (71st) Academy Awards", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Record-breaking Cats bows out", BBC News, 15 January 2002. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
- Adams, "Judi Dench: 'I never want to stop working'", The Observer, 14 October 2012. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Judi Dench (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Writers & Journalists
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced