Judi Dench Biography

Dench has established a reputation in her own country as probably the finest actress in post-World War II history, owing to her performance in theatre, which has been her major focus throughout her career. She has often placed #1 in surveys to choose the best actress in the United Kingdom. She also rose to international prominence when she resurrected the role of M in the James Bond film series in 1995. Dench was reared as a Quaker by his parents, Reginald Arthur Dench and Eleanora. Judi Dench enrolled in York's The Mount School when she was thirteen years old. In 1971, she married British actor Michael Williams, and on September 24, 1972, they had their only child, Tara Cressida Williams. Their daughter, like her parents, went on to become an actress. A Fine Romance, a British sitcom from the 1980s, starring Dame Judi with her husband. Michael Williams died of lung cancer in 2001, at the age of 65. Emma Dench, a prominent Roman historian at Birkbeck College in London, is one of her noteworthy relatives. She is now a patron of Saffron Walden Friends' School. She is also a patron of Horley, United Kingdom's Archway Theatre. She studied theatre at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and had her professional debut in Liverpool in 1957 as Ophelia in Hamlet. She went on to perform in repertory in Oxford and Nottingham for several seasons. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961 and performed with them in Stratford and London for the following two decades, earning multiple prizes for the outstanding actress. Dench has also performed in the West End and with the National Theatre in London on several occasions. She has won several major accolades for her work on the London stage, including a record-breaking six Laurence Olivier Awards. She's also directed plays and starred on Broadway in Amy's Room with great success. Dame Judi is the most popular performer on the London stage, notwithstanding her advanced age. She is frequently compared to and contrasted with Dame Maggie Smith, a British performer of the same generation with whom she has shared screen time in numerous films and on stage in David Hare's two-hander Breath of Life. In April 2006, she made her West End comeback in Hay Fever, opposite Peter Bowles, Belinda Lang, and Kim Medcalf. Her numerous television performances include leading parts in the shows As Time Goes By and A Fine Romance, among others. Dench was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1970 and a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in 1988. In 2005, she was awarded a Companion of Honour (CH). Durham University awarded her an Honorary DLitt in 2000-2001. She will soon be seen in an advertisement for Film Four alongside Ewan MacGregor, costumed as a lobster.

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