Judi Dench

Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses in British history,[1] she is seen as a “peerless performer” with roles ranging from the James Bond films to Shakespearean dramas.[2] She has been named Britain’s best actor on multiple occasions.[3][4]

Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years, she performed in several of Shakespeare’s plays, in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Although most of Dench’s work during this period was in theatre, she also branched into film work and won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer. In 1968, she drew excellent reviews for her leading role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret.

Over the next two decades, Dench established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She received critical acclaim for her work on television during this period, in the series A Fine Romance (1981–1984) and 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 continued to play in James Bond films until her final cameo appearance in Spectre (2015).