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Judi Dench
at the 2007 BAFTAs
Born	Judith Olivia Dench
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1957–present
Spouse(s)	Michael Williams (1971-2001) (his death)

Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. She has won ten BAFTAs, seven Laurence Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Oscar, two Golden Globes and a Tony Award.

Life

Dench was born in Heworth, York, North Riding of Yorkshire, the daughter of Eleanora Olave Jones, a native of Dublin, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor who met Judi's mother while studying medicine at Trinity College. Dench, a Quaker, was raised a Methodist until she attended The Mount School, a Quaker Public Secondary school in York, and lived in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester. Notable relatives include her older brother, actor Jeffrey Dench, and her niece, Emma Dench, a Roman historian previously at Birkbeck, University of London, and currently at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

When Dench was 13, she entered The Mount School, York. In 1971, Dench married British actor Michael Williams and they had their only child, Tara Cressida Williams (aka "Finty Williams"), on 24 September, 1972. She has followed the family's theatrical tradition, becoming a highly accomplished actress. Dench and her husband starred together in several stage productions, as well as separately, but then paired again to make television history with Bob Larbey's hit British sitcom, A Fine Romance (1981–84).

Michael Williams died from lung cancer in 2001, aged 65.

Public life

In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her forte throughout her career. She has more than once been named number one in polls for Britain's best actress. Research to find "the perfect voice" has indicated that Dench's voice is one of the best.

Dench was awarded the OBE in 1970, became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1988, and a Companion of Honour in 2005. She gained worldwide popular fame after taking over the role of M in the James Bond film series in 1995, and subsequently through many acclaimed film appearances.

Dench is a patron of The Leaveners, Friends School Saffron Walden and the Archway Theatre, Horley, UK. She became president of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 2006, taking over from Sir John Mills, and is also president of the Questors Theatre. In May 2006, she became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is also patron of Ovingdean Hall School, a special day and boarding school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Brighton.

Dench is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. In 2000-2001 she received an Honorary DLitt from Durham University. On 24 June 2008, she was honoured by the University of St Andrews, receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) at the university's graduation ceremony.

Career

20 Century

Judi Dench trained as a set designer before taking up acting at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. Subsequently, she was involved on a non-professional basis in the first three productions of the modern revival of the York Mystery Plays in the 1950s. Most famously, she played the role of the Virgin Mary in the 1957 production, performed on a fixed stage in the Museum Gardens.

In September 1957, she made her first professional stage appearance with the Old Vic Company, at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, as Ophelia in Hamlet, then her London debut in the same production at the Old Vic. She remained a member of the company for four seasons, 1957–1961, her roles including Katherine in Henry V in 1958 (which was also her New York debut) and as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in October 1960, directed and designed by Franco Zeffirelli. During this period, she toured the United States and Canada, and appeared in Yugoslavia and at the Edinburgh Festival.

She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in December 1961 playing Anya in The Cherry Orchard at the Aldwych Theatre in London, and made her Stratford-upon-Avon debut in April 1962 as Isabella in Measure for Measure. She subsequently spent seasons in repertory both with the Nottingham Playhouse from January 1963 (including a West African tour as Lady Macbeth for the British Council), and with the Oxford Playhouse Company from April 1964. That same year she made her film debut in The Third Secret.

In 1968, she was offered the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret. As Sheridan Morley later reported: "At first she thought they were joking. She had never done a musical and she has an unusual croaky voice which sounds as if she has a permanent cold. So frightened was she of singing in public that she auditioned from the wings, leaving the pianists alone on stage". But when it opened at the Palace Theatre in February 1968, Frank Marcus, reviewing for Plays and Players, commented that: "She sings well. The title song in particular is projected with great feeling."

After a long run in Cabaret, she rejoined the RSC making numerous appearances with the company in Stratford and London over the next two decades, winning several best actress awards. Among her roles with the RSC, she was the Duchess in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi in 1971. In the Stratford 1976 season, and then at the Aldwych in 1977, she gave two comedy performances, first in Trevor Nunn's musical staging of The Comedy of Errors as Adriana, then partnered with Donald Sinden as Beatrice and Benedick in John Barton's "British Raj" revival of Much Ado About Nothing. As Bernard Levin wrote in the Sunday Times: "...demonstrating once more that she is a comic actress of consummate skill, perhaps the very best we have."

But one of her most notable achievements with the RSC was her performance as Lady Macbeth in 1976. Nunn's acclaimed production of Macbeth was first staged with a minimalist design at The Other Place theatre in Stratford. Its small round stage focused attention on the psychological dynamics of the characters, and both Ian McKellen in the title role, and Dench, received exceptionally favourable notices. "If this is not great acting I don't know what is.": Michael Billington, The Guardian. "It will astonish me if the performance is matched by any in this actress's generation.": J C Trewin, The Lady. The production transferred to London, opening at the Donmar Warehouse in September 1977, was filmed for television, and later released on VHS and finally DVD. She won the SWET Best Actress Award in 1977.

She enjoyed a romantic pairing with Jeremy Irons in 1978, in the BBC television film Langrishe, Go Down, with a screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by David Jones, in which she played one of three spinster sisters living in a fading Irish mansion in the Waterford countryside.

Dench made her directing debut in 1988 with the Renaissance Theatre Company's touring season, Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road, co-produced with the Birmingham Rep, and ending with a three month repertory programme at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Dench's contribution was a staging of Much Ado About Nothing, set in the Napoleonic era, which starred Kenneth Branagh and Samantha Bond as Benedick and Beatrice. In the same season, Geraldine McEwan and Derek Jacobi also made their directorial debuts.

She has made numerous appearances in the West End including the role of Miss Trant in the 1974 musical version of The Good Companions at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1981, Dench was due to play the title role of Grizabella in the original production of Cats, but was forced to pull out due to a torn Achilles tendon, leaving Elaine Paige to play the role. She has acted with the National Theatre in London where, in September 1995, she played Desiree Armfeldt in a major revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, for which she won an Olivier Award.

In 1995, she became known to an international audience after taking over the role of M (James Bond's boss) with the James Bond film series, starting with GoldenEye. She is the only actor from Pierce Brosnan's Bond films to remain in the rebooted franchise. She has appeared in Casino Royale (2006) and its direct sequel Quantum of Solace (2008).

She has won multiple awards for performances on the London stage, including a record six Laurence Olivier Awards. She also won the Tony Award for her 1999 Broadway performance in the role of Esme Allen in David Hare's Amy's View. Alongside her numerous award winning performances, she has also managed to take on the role of Director for a number of stage productions. Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Elizabeth I in the film Shakespeare in Love.

Judi Dench has frequently appeared with her close friend Geoffrey Palmer. They co-starred in the series As Time Goes By, where she played Jean Pargetter, becoming Jean Hardcastle after she married Lionel Hardcastle. The program spanned nine seasons. They also worked together on the films Mrs. Brown and Tomorrow Never Dies, both filmed in 1997. Dench has also lent her incredible voice to many animated characters, narrations, and various other voice work. She plays the role of "Miss Lilly" in the children's animated series Angelina Ballerina (alongside her daughter, Finty Williams, as the voice of Angelina) and as Mrs. Calloway in the Disney animated film Home on the Range. She has narrated various classical music recordings (notably Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Britten's Canticles-The Heart of the Matter), and has appeared in numerous BBC radio broadcasts as well as commercials. Her many television appearances include lead roles in the series A Fine Romance and As Time Goes By. In the U.S., As Time Goes By has been run repeatedly on PBS and on BBC America, and may be -- along with her Bond role -- the entity for which Dench is best known to American audiences.

21 Century

Dench remains one of the biggest draws 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 Tea with Mussolini (1999) and Ladies in Lavender (2004), and on stage in David Hare's two-role play Breath of Life (Haymarket, October 2002). Dench returned to the West End stage in April 2006 in Hay Fever alongside Peter Bowles, Belinda Lang and Kim Medcalf.

She finished off a busy 2006 with the role of Mistress Quickly in the RSC's new musical The Merry Wives, a version of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Dench's more recent film career has been extremely successful. She successfully garnered six Academy Award nominations in nine years: for Mrs. Brown in 1997; her Oscar-winning turn as Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love in 1998; for Chocolat in 2000; for the lead role of writer Iris Murdoch in Iris in 2001 (with Kate Winslet playing her as a younger woman); for Mrs Henderson Presents (a romanticised history of the Windmill Theatre) in 2005; and for 2006's Notes on a Scandal, a film for which she received critical acclaim, including Golden Globe, Academy Award, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild nominations.

In 2007 the BBC issued The Judi Dench Collection, DVDs of eight television dramas: Talking to a Stranger quartet (1966), Keep an Eye on Amélie (1973), The Cherry Orchard (1981), Going Gently (1981), Ghosts (with Kenneth Branagh and Michael Gambon, 1987), Make and Break (with Robert Hardy, 1987), Can You Hear Me Thinking? (co-starring with her husband, Michael Williams, 1990) and Absolute Hell (1991).

Dench, as Miss Matty Jenkins, co-starred with Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton and Francesca Annis, in the BBC One five-part series Cranford. The series began transmission in the UK in November 2007, and on the BBC's U.S. producing partner station WGBH (PBS Boston) in spring 2008.

Dench narrated the updated Walt Disney World Epcot attraction Spaceship Earth.

In February 2008, she was named as the first official patron of the York Youth Mysteries 2008, a project to allow young people to explore the York Mystery Plays through dance, film-making and circus. This culminated on 21 June with a day of city centre performances in York.

She worked on the 22nd Bond adventure Quantum Of Solace and reprised her role as M.

She is also interested in Thoroughbred horse racing and in partnership with her chauffeur Bryan Agar owns a four-year-old horse "Smokey Oakey" who won the 2008 Brigadier Gerard Stakes.

She returns to the West End from 13 March-23 May 2009 in Yukio Mishima's Madame De Sade, directed by Michael Grandage as part of the Donmar season at Wyndham's Theatre.

Filmography

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

• Everything or Nothing
• GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
• Quantum of Solace

Theatre work

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Source: "Judi Dench: With a Crack in her Voice" by John Miller

As an actress

As a director

• 1988 - Much Ado About Nothing, Reneissance Theatre Company
• 1989 - Look Back in Anger - Reneissance Theatre Company
• 1989 - Macbeth - Central School of Speech and Drama
• 1991 - The Boy from Syracuse, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• 1993 - Romeo and Juliet, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Discography

• Cabaret (1968), Original London cast album CBS (1973)
• The Good Companions (1974), Original London cast recording (1974)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1995); from Felix Mendelssohn as Recitant. Conducted by Seiji Ozawa
• A Little Night Music (1995) by Stephen Sondheim, Royal National Theatre Cast

Awards and nominations

Theatre

Awards

• 1977: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Revival – Macbeth
• 1980: Evening Standard Award for Best Actress – Juno and the Paycock
• 1980: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Revival – Juno and the Paycock
• 1982: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress – The Importance of Being Earnest and A Kind of Alaska
• 1982: Evening Standard Award for Best Actress – The Importance of Being Earnest and A Kind of Alaska
• 1984: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play – Pack of Lies
• 1987: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress – Antony and Cleopatra
• 1987: Evening Standard Award for Best Actress – Antony and Cleopatra
• 1987: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress – Antony and Cleopatra
• 1996: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress – Absolute Hell
• 1996: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Entertainment – A Little Night Music
• 1997: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress – Amy's View
• 1999: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play – Amy's View
• 2004: Laurence Olivier Award: Special Award for Outstanding Contributions to British Theatre

Television

Awards

• 1967: BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress – Talking to a Stranger
• 2001: BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role – The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
• 2001: Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Mini-Series or TV Movie – The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

Nominations

• 1990: BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress – Behaving Badly
• 2001: American Comedy Awards Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special – The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
• 2001: Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie – The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
• 2001: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor - TV Movie/Miniseries – The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
• 2008: Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Mini-Series – Cranford

References

1. Staff writers (6 September 2002). "The Importance of Dame Judi". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
2. Michael Billington (12 September 2005). "Please God, not retirement". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
3. Michael Billington (23 March 1998). "Judi Dench: Nothing like the Dame". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
4. "Hopkins and Dench named best British actors". The Guardian. 18 August 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
5. "Connery and Dench Top Legend Poll". Time Out Group. 25 February 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
6. Staff writers (30 May 2008). "Formula 'secret of perfect voice'". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
7. "Dame Judi Dench". Shakespeare Schools Festival. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
8. "Distinguished actress to be honoured by University". University of St Andrews. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
9. "Dame Judi speaks up for Mystery Plays". HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk. 18 September 2003. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
10. Sheridan Morley (1986). The great stage stars: distinguished theatrical careers of the past and present. London: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 978-020714970-2.
11. Robert Tanitch (2007). London stage in the 20th century. London: Haus Publishing. ISBN 978-190495074-5.
12. Staff writers (15 January 2002). "Record-breaking Cats bows out". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
13. "Merry Wives– The Musical". Royal Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
14. Philip Fisher (2007). "Reviews: Absolute Hell". British Theatre Guide.
15. "Dame Judi Dench lands Brigadier Gerard Stakes with Smokey Oakey". This is London. The Evening Standard. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
16. British Theatre Guide review

Further reading

• Herbert, Ian (1981). Who's Who in the Theatre (17th ed.). Detroit: Gale. ISBN 0273017179. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Billington, Michael (1993). One Night Stands: A critic's view of British theatre from 1971-1991. London: Nick Hern Books. ISBN 1854591851. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Judi Dench Biography
• Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
• Please use a more specific IBDB template. See the documentation for available templates.
• Judi Dench at the Royal Shakespeare Company performance database
• As Time Goes By Central website
• Judi Dench on Acting Regal
• University of Bristol Theatre Collection, University of Bristol
• Judi Dench British Academy Awards, BAFTA Searchable Awards Database

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