AKA Judith Olivia Dench

Born: 9-Dec-1934
Birthplace: York, North Yorkshire, England

Gender: Female
Religion: Quaker
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: England
Executive summary: Mrs. Brown

Judi Dench's father was the official physician for the Theatre Royal, which inspired Dench toward acting. Her first role was as a snail in a grade school play, and her debut role with the Old Vic Company was the Virgin Mary, in 1957. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961, and has played Ophelia, Titania, Lady Macbeth, and hundreds of other roles on stage. On film, Dench's résumé stretches back to 1964, when she had a small role in the Stephen Boyd psychothriller The Third Secret. Her early film career sputtered, and one director famously told her after an audition, "Miss Dench, you have every single thing wrong with your face." She has won five BAFTAs (the British equivalent of Oscars), but for most Americans, she first drew attention when she was cast as "M", James Bond's boss in the 007 movies, beginning with GoldenEye in 1995.

On television, she played Jean Pargeter in the 1990s elder Brit romantic sitcom As Time Goes By. In an earlier sitcom, A Fine Romance, she starred opposite her long-time husband, Michael Williams. They met in 1969, and were married from 1972 until his death of cancer in 2002.

Her first leading role was as Queen Victoria in 1997's Mrs. Brown. The next year she won an Oscar for eight minutes of screen time as Queen Elizabeth I, in Shakespeare in Love.

Father: Reginald Dench (doctor, d. 1964)
Mother: Olave Dench (amateur actress)
Husband: Michael Williams (actor, b. 9-Jul-1935, m. 5-Feb-1971, d. 11-Jan-2001 cancer)
Daughter: Tara Cressida Frances "Finty" Williams (actress, b. 24-Sep-1972)

    High School: Mount School, York
    University: Central School of Speech and Drama

    Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 1999 for Shakespeare in Love
    Golden Globe 1998 Best Actress for Mrs. Brown
    Golden Globe 2001 for Last of the Blonde Bombshells (miniseries)
    Laurence Olivier Theatre Award 1977 for Macbeth
    Laurence Olivier Theatre Award 1980 for Juno and the Paycock
    Laurence Olivier Theatre Award 1984 for Pack of Lies
    Laurence Olivier Theatre Award 1987 for Antony and Cleopatra
    Laurence Olivier Theatre Award 1996 for Absolute Hell
    Laurence Olivier Theatre Award 1996 for A Little Night Music
    Dame of the British Empire 1988
    Risk Factors: Smoking

    TELEVISION
    As Time Goes By Jean Hardcastle (1992-2005)
    A Fine Romance Laura Dalton (1981-84)

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Notes on a Scandal (25-Dec-2006)
    Casino Royale (14-Nov-2006)
    Doogal (24-Feb-2006) Narrator [VOICE]
    Pride & Prejudice (11-Sep-2005)
    Mrs. Henderson Presents (9-Sep-2005)
    Ladies in Lavender (17-Sep-2004)
    The Chronicles of Riddick (3-Jun-2004)
    Home on the Range (21-Mar-2004) [VOICE]
    Bugs! (12-Jun-2003) Narrator [VOICE]
    Die Another Day (18-Nov-2002)
    The Importance of Being Earnest (17-May-2002)
    The Shipping News (18-Dec-2001)
    Iris (14-Dec-2001)
    Chocolat (15-Dec-2000)
    Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (7-Sep-2000) Narrator
    The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (26-Aug-2000)
    The World Is Not Enough (8-Nov-1999)
    Tea with Mussolini (26-Mar-1999)
    Shakespeare in Love (3-Dec-1998)
    Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh (8-Nov-1998)
    Tomorrow Never Dies (19-Dec-1997)
    Mrs. Brown (18-Jul-1997)
    Hamlet (25-Dec-1996)
    GoldenEye (17-Nov-1995)
    Jack and Sarah (2-Jun-1995)
    Middlemarch (12-Jan-1994)
    Henry V (8-Nov-1989)
    A Handful of Dust (24-Jun-1988)
    84 Charing Cross Road (13-Feb-1987)
    A Room with a View (Dec-1985)
    Wetherby (Feb-1985)
    A Midsummer Night's Dream (Sep-1968)
    A Study in Terror (Oct-1965)

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