Judi Dench

Judi Dench
Judi Dench at the BAFTAs 2007.jpg
Dench at the 2007 BAFTAs
Born Judith Olivia Dench
9 December 1934 (1934-12-09) (age 74)
Yorkshire, England
Spouse(s) Michael Williams
(1971-2001)

Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA, (born 9 December, 1934), usually known as Judi Dench, is an English actress. She has won nine BAFTAs, six Laurence Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.

Contents

Personal life

Judi Dench was born in York, North Riding of Yorkshire, the daughter of Eleanora Olave (née Jones), a native of Dublin, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor who met Judi's mother while studying medicine at Trinity College.[1] Dench was raised a Quaker[2][3] and lived in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester. Notable relatives include her older brother, actor Jeffery Dench, and her niece, Emma Dench, a Roman historian previously at Birkbeck, University of London,[4] and currently at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

When Dench was 13, she entered The Mount School, York. In 1971, Dench married British actor Michael Williams and they had their only child, Tara Cressida Williams (aka "Finty Williams"), on 24 September, 1972. She has followed the family's theatrical tradition, becoming an accomplished actress in her own right.

Dench and her husband starred together in several stage productions, as well as separately, but then paired again to make television history with Bob Larbey's hit British sitcom, A Fine Romance (1981–84).

Michael Williams died from lung cancer in 2001, aged 65.

In Laurence Olivier's autobiography Confessions of an Actor (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982) he describes her as 'the scrumptious Judi Dench'.

Public life

In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her forte throughout her career. She has more than once been named number one in polls for Britain's best actress.[5][6] Research to find "the perfect voice" has indicated that Dench's voice is one of the best.[7]

Dench was awarded the OBE in 1970, became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1988, and a Companion of Honour in 2005.[8] She gained worldwide popular fame after taking over the role of M in the James Bond film series in 1995, and subsequently through many acclaimed film appearances.

Dench is a patron of The Leaveners, Friends School Saffron Walden and the Archway Theatre, Horley, UK. She became president of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 2006, taking over from Sir John Mills, and is also president of the Questors Theatre. In May 2006, she became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Dench is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. In 2000-2001 she received an Honorary DLitt from Durham University. On 24 June, 2008, she was honoured by the University of St Andrews, receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) at the university's graduation ceremony.[9]

Career

20th Century

Before starting her professional career, Judi Dench trained for the stage at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, and was involved in the first three productions of the modern revival of the York Mystery Plays in the 1950s. Most famously, she played the role of the Virgin Mary in the 1957 production, performed on a fixed stage in the Museum Gardens.[10]

In September 1957, she made her first professional stage appearance with the Old Vic Company, at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, as Ophelia in Hamlet, then her London debut in the same production at the Old Vic. She remained a member of the company for four seasons, 1957–1961, her roles including Katherine in Henry V in 1958 (which was also her New York debut) and as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in October 1960, directed and designed by Franco Zeffirelli. During this period, she toured the United States and Canada, and appeared in Yugoslavia and at the Edinburgh Festival.

She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in December 1961 playing Anya in The Cherry Orchard at the Aldwych Theatre in London, and made her Stratford-upon-Avon debut in April 1962 as Isabella in Measure for Measure. She subsequently spent seasons in repertory both with the Nottingham Playhouse from January 1963 (including a West African tour as Lady Macbeth for the British Council), and with the Oxford Playhouse Company from April 1964.

In 1968, she was offered the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret. As Sheridan Morley later reported: "At first she thought they were joking. She had never done a musical and she has an unusual croaky voice which sounds as if she has a permanent cold. So frightened was she of singing in public that she auditioned from the wings, leaving the pianists alone on stage".[11] But when it opened at the Palace Theatre in February 1968, Frank Marcus, reviewing for Plays and Players, commented that: "She sings well. The title song in particular is projected with great feeling."

After a long run in Cabaret, she rejoined the RSC making numerous appearances with the company in Stratford and London over the next two decades, winning several best actress awards. Among her roles with the RSC, she was the Duchess in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi in 1971. In the Stratford 1976 season, and then at the Aldwych in 1977, she gave two comedy performances, first in Trevor Nunn's musical staging of The Comedy of Errors as Adriana, then partnered with Donald Sinden as Beatrice and Benedick in John Barton's "British Raj" revival of Much Ado About Nothing. As Bernard Levin wrote in the Sunday Times: "...demonstrating once more that she is a comic actress of consummate skill, perhaps the very best we have."[12]

But one of her most notable achievements with the RSC was her performance as Lady Macbeth in 1976. Nunn's acclaimed production of Macbeth was first staged with a minimalist design at The Other Place theatre in Stratford. Its small round stage focused attention on the psychological dynamics of the characters, and both Ian McKellen in the title role, and Dench, received exceptionally favourable notices. "If this is not great acting I don't know what is.": Michael Billington, The Guardian. "It will astonish me if the performance is matched by any in this actress's generation.": J C Trewin, The Lady. The production transferred to London, opening at the Donmar Warehouse in September 1977, was filmed for television, and later released on VHS and finally DVD. She won the SWET Best Actress Award in 1977.

She enjoyed a romantic pairing with Jeremy Irons in 1978, in the BBC television film Langrishe, Go Down, with a screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by David Jones, in which she played one of three spinster sisters living in a fading Irish mansion in the Waterford countryside.

Dench made her directing debut in 1988 with the Renaissance Theatre Company's touring season, Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road, co-produced with the Birmingham Rep, and ending with a three month repertory programme at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Dench's contribution was a staging of Much Ado About Nothing, set in the Napoleonic era, which starred Kenneth Branagh and Samantha Bond as Benedick and Beatrice. In the same season, Geraldine McEwan and Derek Jacobi also made their directorial debuts.

She has made numerous appearances in the West End including the role of Miss Trant in the 1974 musical version of The Good Companions at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1981, Dench was due to play the title role of Grizabella in the original production of Cats, but was forced to pull out due to a torn Achilles tendon, leaving Elaine Paige to play the role.[13] She has acted with the National Theatre in London where, in September 1995, she played Desiree Armfeldt in a major revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, for which she won an Olivier Award.

In 1995, she became known to an international audience after taking over the role of M (James Bond's boss) with the James Bond film series, starting with GoldenEye. She is one of the few actors from Pierce Brosnan's Bond films to remain in the rebooted franchise. She has appeared in 2006's Casino Royale and has been confirmed to be continuing the role in Quantum of Solace, which is scheduled to be released in November 2008.

She has won multiple awards for performances on the London stage, including a record six Laurence Olivier Awards. She also won the Tony Award for her 1999 Broadway performance in the role of Esme Allen in David Hare's Amy's View. Alongside her numerous award winning performances, she has also managed to take on the role of Director for a number of stage productions. Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Elizabeth I in the film Shakespeare in Love.

Judi Dench has frequently appeared with her close friend Geoffrey Palmer, in the series As Time Goes By and in the films Mrs. Brown and Tomorrow Never Dies, both filmed in 1997. Dench has also lent her incredible voice to many animated characters, narrations, and various other voice work. She plays the role of "Miss Lilly" in the children's animated series Angelina Ballerina (alongside her daughter, Finty Williams, as the voice of Angelina) and as Mrs. Calloway in the Disney animated film Home on the Range. She has narrated various classical music recordings (notably Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Britten's Canticles-The Heart of the Matter), and has appeared in numerous BBC radio broadcasts as well as commercials. Her many television appearances include lead roles in the series A Fine Romance and As Time Goes By.

21st Century

Dench remains one of the biggest draws on the London stage. She is often compared and contrasted with Dame Maggie Smith, another British actress of the same generation, with whom she has appeared in several movies, including the 2004 Ladies in Lavender, and on stage in David Hare's two-role play Breath of Life (Haymarket, October 2002). Dench returned to the West End stage in April 2006 in Hay Fever alongside Peter Bowles, Belinda Lang and Kim Medcalf.

She finished off a busy 2006 with the role of Mistress Quickly in the RSC's new musical The Merry Wives, a version of The Merry Wives of Windsor.[14] at Stratford-upon-Avon.

Dench's more recent film career has been extremely successful. She successfully garnered six Academy Award nominations in nine years for Mrs. Brown in 1997; her Oscar-winning turn as Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love in 1998; for Chocolat in 2000; for the lead role of writer Iris Murdoch in Iris in 2001 (with Kate Winslet playing her as a younger woman); for Mrs Henderson Presents (a romanticised history of the Windmill Theatre) in 2005; and for 2006's Notes on a Scandal, a film for which she received critical acclaim, including Golden Globe, Academy Award, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild nominations. At the end of 2006 Dench worked pro bono to record information announcements for Tramlink.

In 2007 the BBC issued The Judi Dench Collection, DVDs of eight television dramas: Talking to a Stranger quartet (1966), Keep an Eye on Amélie (1973), The Cherry Orchard (1981), Going Gently (1981), Ghosts (with Kenneth Branagh and Michael Gambon, 1987), Make and Break (with Robert Hardy, 1987), Can You Hear Me Thinking? (co-starring with her husband, Michael Williams, 1990) and Absolute Hell (1991).[15]

Dench, as Miss Matty Jenkins, co-stars with Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton and Francesca Annis, in the BBC One five-part series Cranford. The series began transmission in the UK in November 2007, and on the BBC's US producing partner station WGBH (PBS Boston) in spring 2008.

Dench narrated the updated Walt Disney World Epcot attraction Spaceship Earth.

In February 2008, she was named as the first official patron of the York Youth Mysteries 2008, a project to allow young people to explore the York Mystery Plays through dance, film-making and circus. This culminated on 21 June with a day of city centre performances in York.

She is currently also working on the 22nd Bond adventure Quantum Of Solace and is reprising her role as M.

She is also interested in horse racing and in partnership with her chauffeur Bryan Agar owns a four-year-old horse "Smokey Oakey".

She will return to the West End from 13 March—23 May, 2009 in Yukio Mishima's Madame De Sade, directed by Michael Grandage as part of the Donmar season at Wyndham's Theatre.

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1964 The Third Secret Miss Humphries
1965 Four in the Morning Wife
A Study in Terror Sally
He Who Rides a Tiger Joanne
1968 A Midsummer Night's Dream Titania
1973 Luther Katherine
1974 Dead Cert Laura Davidson
1978 Langrishe, Go Down Imogen Langrishe (BBC TV film)
1985 The Angelic Conversation (narrator)
Wetherby Marcia Pilborough
A Room with a View Eleanor Lavish
1987 84 Charing Cross Road Nora Doel
1988 A Handful of Dust Mrs. Beaver
1989 Henry V Mistress Quickly
Behaving Badly Bridget Mayor Channel 4 television serial
1995 Jack and Sarah Margaret
GoldenEye M
1996 Hamlet Hecuba
1997 Mrs. Brown Queen Victoria Best Actress Oscar nomination

Best Actress BAFTA

Best Actress Drama Golden Globe
Tomorrow Never Dies M
1998 Shakespeare in Love Queen Elizabeth Best Supporting Actress Oscar
1999 Tea with Mussolini Arabella
The World Is Not Enough M
2000 Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (narrator) (documentary)
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells Elizabeth (TV)
Chocolat Armande Voizin Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination
2001 Iris Iris Murdoch Best Actress Oscar nomination

Best Actress BAFTA
The Shipping News Agnis Hamm
2002 The Importance of Being Earnest Lady Augusta Bracknell
Die Another Day M
2003 Bugs! (narrator) (short subject)
2004 Home on the Range Mrs. Caloway (voice)
The Chronicles of Riddick Aereon
Ladies in Lavender Ursula
2005 Pride & Prejudice Lady Catherine de Bourg
Mrs Henderson Presents Mrs. Laura Henderson Best Actress Oscar nomination
2006 Doogal (narrator)
Casino Royale M
Notes on a Scandal Barbara Covett Best Actress Oscar nomination
2007 Go Inside to Greet the Light (narrator)
2008 Quantum of Solace M filming
2009 Nine Liliane La Fleur pre-production
2010 Bond 23 M announced

She has also lent her likeness, and her voice, for the role of M in four James Bond video games:

edit

Theatreography

Source: "Judi Dench: With a Crack in her Voice" by John Miller

As an actress

St Mary's Abbey

  • 1957
    • York Mystery Plays - Virgin Mary

The Old Vic Company

The Royal Shakespeare Company

The Nottingham Playhouse Company

  • 1963
  • A Shot in the Dark - Josefa Lautenay, Lyric Theatre

The Oxford Playhouse Company

  • 1964
    • Three Sisters - Irina
    • The Twelfth Hour - Anna
  • 1965
    • The Alchemist - Dol Common
    • Romeo and Jeannette - Jeannette
    • The Firescreen - Jacqueline

The Nottingham Playhouse Company

The Oxford Playhouse Company

  • 1966
    • The Promise - Lika
    • The Rules of the Game - Silia
  • 1967
    • The Promise - Lika, Fortune Theatre

No Company

  • 1968
    • Cabaret - Sally Bowles, Palace Theatre

The Royal Shakespeare Company

  • 1969
  • 1970
    • London Assurance - Grace Harkaway, Aldwych
    • Major Barbara - Barbara Undershaft, Aldwych
  • 1971
    • The Merchant of Venice - Portia, Stratford
    • The Duchess of Malfi - Duchess, Stratford
    • Toad of Toad Hall - Fielfmouse, Stoat and Mother Rabbit, Stratford

No Company

  • 1973
    • Context to Whisper - Aurelia, Royal, York
    • The Wolf - Vilma, Oxford Playhouse (also at Apollo, Queen's & New London)
  • 1974
    • The Good Companions - Miss Trant, Her Majesty's
  • 1975
    • The Gay Lord Quex - Sophy Fullgarney, Albery

The Royal Shakespeare Company

  • 1975
    • Too True to be Good - Sweetie Simpkins, Aldwych
  • 1976
  • 1977
    • Pillars of the Community - Lona Hessel, Aldwych
  • 1978
    • The Way of the World - Millamant, Aldwych
  • 1979
  • 1980
    • Juno and the Paycock - Juno Boyle, Aldwych

No Company

  • 1981
    • A Village Wooing - Young Woman, New End

The National Theatre Company

  • 1982
    • The Importance of Being Ernest - Lady Bracknell, Lyttleton
    • A King of Alaska - Deborah, Cottesloe
  • 1983
    • Pack of Lies - Barbara Jackson, Lyric

The Royal Shakespeare Company

  • 1984
    • Mother Courage - Mother Courage, Barbican
    • Waste 0 Amy O'Connell, Barbican and Lyric

No Company

  • 1986
    • Mr and Mrs Nobody - Carrie Pooter, Garrick

The National Theatre Company

  • 1987
  • 1989
  • 1991
    • The Plough and the Stars - Bessie Burgess, Young Vic

The National Theatre Company

  • 1991
    • The Sea - Mrs Rafi, Lyttleton
  • 1992
    • Coriolanus - Volumnia, Chichester

The Royal Shakespeare Company

  • 1992
    • The Gift of the Gorgon - Helen Damson, Barbican and Wyndham's

The National Theatre Company

  • 1994
  • 1995
    • Absolute Hell - Christine Foskett, Lyttleton
    • A Little Night Music - Desirée Armfeldt, Olivier
  • 1997
    • Amy's View - Esmé, Lyttleton
  • 1998
    • Amy's View - Esmé, Aldwych

No Company

  • 1998
    • Filumena - Filumena, Piccadilly
  • 1999
    • Amy's View - Esmé, Barrymore, New York
  • 2001
    • The Royal Family - Fanny Cavendish, Theatre Royal Haymarket
  • 2002
    • The Breath of Life - Frances, Theatre Royal Haymarket

The Royal Shakespeare Company

  • 2003
    • All's Well That Ends Well - The Countess, Stratford and Gielgud

No Company

  • 2006
    • Hay Fever - Judith Bliss, Theatre Royal Haymarket

The Royal Shakespeare Company

  • 2006
    • The Merry Wives - The Musical - Mistress Quickly, Stratford

As a director

Selected discography

Selected awards and recognition

Theatre

Film and television

References

  • Ian Herbert, Christine Baxter and Robert E. Finlay, ed. (1981), Who's Who in the Theatre (17th ed.), Detroit: Gale, ISBN 978-081030234-1 
  • Michael Billington (1993). One Night Stands: A critic's view of British theatre from 1971–1991. London: Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-185459185-2. 
  • Theatre Record and its annual Indexes
  • British Theatre Guide for reviews of Judi Dench DVDs
  1. ↑ "The Importance of Dame Judi" (6 September 2002). 
  2. ↑ "'Please God, not retirement'", The Guardian (12 September 2005). 
  3. ↑ Michael Billington (23 March 1998). "Judi Dench: Nothing like the Dame", The Guardian. 
  4. ↑ Birkbeck College - staff page
  5. ↑ "Hopkins and Dench named best British actors", The Guardian (18 August 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-29. 
  6. ↑ "Connery and Dench Top Legend Poll", Time Out Group (25 February 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-29. 
  7. ↑ "Formula 'secret of perfect voice'". BBC News Online. BBC (30 May 2008). Retrieved on 2008-09-22.
  8. ↑ "Dame Judi Dench". Shakespeare Schools Festival. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
  9. ↑ "Distinguished actress to be honoured by University". University of St Andrews (21 May 2008). Retrieved on 2008-09-24.
  10. ↑ "Dame Judi speaks up for Mystery Plays", HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk (18 September 2003). Retrieved on 2006-12-29. 
  11. ↑ Sheridan Morley (1986). The great stage stars: distinguished theatrical careers of the past and present. London: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 978-020714970-2. 
  12. ↑ Robert Tanitch (2007). London stage in the 20th century. London: Haus Publishing. ISBN 978-190495074-5. 
  13. ↑ Record-breaking Cats bows out. BBC News, 2002-01-15. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  14. ↑ "Merry Wives – The Musical". Royal Shakespeare Company. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
  15. ↑ Philip Fisher (2007). "Reviews: Absolute Hell". britishtheatreguide.info.
  16. ↑ British Theatre Guide review [1]

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Dorothy Tutin
for A Month in the Country		 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
1977
for Macbeth		 Succeeded by
Dorothy Tutin
for The Double Dealer
Preceded by
Zoe Wanamaker
for Once in a Lifetime		 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
1980
for Juno and the Paycock		 Succeeded by
Margaret Tyzack
for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Preceded by
Peggy Ashcroft
for Cream in my Coffee		 Best TV Actress
1982
for A Fine Romance		 Succeeded by
Beryl Reid
for Smiley's People
Preceded by
Rosemary Leach
for 84 Charing Cross Road		 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
1983
for Pack of Lies		 Succeeded by
Thuli Dumakude
for Poppie Nongena
Preceded by
Lindsay Duncan
for Les Liaisons Dangereuses		 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
1987
for Antony and Cleopatra		 Succeeded by
Fiona Shaw
for As You Like It
Preceded by
Rosanna Arquette
for Desperately Seeking Susan		 BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1986
for A Room with a View		 Succeeded by
Susan Wooldridge
for Hope and Glory
Preceded by
Clare Higgins
for Sweet Bird of Youth		 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
1996
for Absolute Hell		 Succeeded by
Janet McTeer
for A Doll's House
Preceded by
Ruthie Henshall
for She Loves Me		 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1996
for A Little Night Music		 Succeeded by
Maria Friedman
for Passion
Preceded by
Brenda Blethyn
for Secrets & Lies		 BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1997
for Mrs. Brown		 Succeeded by
Cate Blanchett
for Elizabeth
Preceded by
Brenda Blethyn
for Secrets & Lies		 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1998
for Mrs. Brown		 Succeeded by
Cate Blanchett
for Elizabeth
Preceded by
Sigourney Weaver
for The Ice Storm		 BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1998
for Shakespeare in Love		 Succeeded by
Maggie Smith
for Tea with Mussolini
Preceded by
Rosanna Arquette
for Desperately Seeking Susan		 BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1968
for Talking to a Stranger		 Succeeded by
Susan Wooldridge
for Hope and Glory
Preceded by
Thora Hird
for Lost for Words		 Best TV Actress
2001
for The Last of the Blonde Bombshells		 Succeeded by
Julie Walters
for My Beautiful Son
Preceded by
Sam Mendes		 Laurence Olivier Society Special Award
2004		 Succeeded by
Alan Bennett
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Maureen Stapleton (1981) · Jessica Lange (1982) · Linda Hunt (1983) · Peggy Ashcroft (1984) · Anjelica Huston (1985) · Dianne Wiest (1986) · Olympia Dukakis (1987) · Geena Davis (1988) · Brenda Fricker (1989) · Whoopi Goldberg (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Marisa Tomei (1992) · Anna Paquin (1993) · Dianne Wiest (1994) · Mira Sorvino (1995) · Juliette Binoche (1996) · Kim Basinger (1997) · Judi Dench (1998) · Angelina Jolie (1999) · Marcia Gay Harden (2000)

 · (1928–1940) ·  · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Irene Worth (1976) · Julie Harris (1977) · Jessica Tandy (1978) · Constance Cummings / Carole Shelley (1979) · Phyllis Frelich (1980) · Jane Lapotaire (1981) · Zoe Caldwell (1982) · Jessica Tandy (1983) · Glenn Close (1984) · Stockard Channing (1985) · Lily Tomlin (1986) · Linda Lavin (1987) · Joan Allen (1988) · Pauline Collins (1989) · Maggie Smith (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Glenn Close (1992) · Madeline Kahn (1993) · Diana Rigg (1994) · Cherry Jones (1995) · Zoe Caldwell (1996) · Janet McTeer (1997) · Marie Mullen (1998) · Judi Dench (1999) · Jennifer Ehle (2000)

(1947–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–present)
Persondata
NAME Dench, Judie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dench, Judith Olivia
SHORT DESCRIPTION English actress
DATE OF BIRTH 9 December 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH York, North Yorkshire, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH