Dame Judi Dench
Judi Dench is an internationally acclaimed film, stage and television actress. Born in York, she studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company appearing as Ophelia in Hamlet.
She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company forging a partnership that would last over thirty years and see her perform every leading Shakespearean female role to much acclaim.
In 1966 she won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer for the film Four in the Morning as well as garnering rave reviews starring as Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret in 1968.
She would go on to establish herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre Company. In television, she achieved great success during this period with two television series - A Fine Romance in 1981, starring alongside her husband Michael Williams; and As Time Goes By in 1992.
She was cast as M in GoldenEye in 1995, a role she continued to play in six further James Bond films. She received several notable film awards for her role as Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown, and has since been acclaimed for her work in films including Shakespeare in Love, Chocolat, Iris, Mrs Henderson Presents, Notes on a Scandal, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Philomena, Esio Trot, Queen Victoria and Belfast.
Judi has received multiple award nominations for her acting in theatre, film and television. Awards include ten BAFTAs, seven Laurence Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award.
She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1970, a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1988 and a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 2005.
Photo: © Caroline Bonarde Ucci