Judi Dench

Biography

Dame Judith Olivia Dench CH DBE FRSA (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programs encompassing several genres, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage.

Dench has garnered various accolades throughout a career that spanned 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.

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).