Judi Dench

She married British actor Michael Williams in February 1971 after dating him for almost 10 years and had a daughter named Tara Cressida Frances Williams who grew up to be an actress. The couple applied for adoption in order to have a second child, but were turned down. She became a grandmother at the age of 62. She is an animal lover and has owned several pets including dogs, cats, guinea pigs, fish and a race horse.

Her husband appeared with her in several stage and television productions, till he died of lung cancer in 2001. After her husband died she was not prepared for another relationship, till she started dating conservationist David Mills in 2010.

She is the patron of more than 180 philanthropic ventures related to health, hygiene and eradication of poverty. She also was the president of Mountview Academy of Arts, Questors Theatre and various other institutions that promote fine arts.

She was born Judith Olivia Dench on December 09, 1934, in Heworth, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Eleanora Olive and Reginald Arthur Dench. Her father was a doctor and her mother worked as a wardrobe mistress. Her brother Jeffery Dench grew up to be an actor and was instrumental in making her join the field.

She studied at the all girls Mount School and became a Quaker due to the influence of the school. Her father was the resident doctor for the York theatre that brought her in close contact with a number of actors. She trained to be a designer at York School of Art for awhile but developed an interest in theatre. She thereafter joined the Central School of Speech and Drama where she took part in a number of plays.

She made her professional theatre debut at the Royal Court Theatre as Ophelia in ‘Hamlet’ in an Old Vic Company production in 1957. She remained with the company for four years and toured the US, Canada and Yugoslavia.

In 1961, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in ‘The Cherry Orchard’ at the Aldwych Theatre. She played the role of Isabella in Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’ the following year. She also appeared as Lady Macbeth in a Playhouse Company production.

She made her screen debut in the British drama film ‘The Third Secret’ in 1964 followed by a cameo role in the Sherlock Holms movie ‘A Study in Terror’ in 1965. She also made her television debut in the BBC serial ‘Hilda Lessways’ in 1959.

She made her big break with her role in the film ‘Four in the Morning’ for which she was awarded the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles in 1966. This was closely followed by a second BAFTA Television Best Actress Award for her performance in the BBC drama ‘Talking to a Stranger’ in 1968. She also made an appearance in the musical ‘Cabaret’ that year.

She rejoined Royal Shakespeare Company and made several appearances with them for the next 20 years. Her performances include varied roles in tragic play ‘The Duchess of Malfi’, the comedy ‘Trevor Nunn’s’ and musical ‘The Comedy of Errors’.

She has appeared in a number of films that include ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (1968), ‘A Room with a View’ (1985), ‘Golden Eye’ (1995), ‘Shakespeare in Love’ (1998), ‘Die Another Day’ (2002), ‘Pride and Prejudice’ (2005), ‘Quantum of Solace’ (2008), ‘Skyfall’ (2012), ‘Murder on the Oriental Express’ (2017) and ‘Nothing Like a Dame’ (2018).

Her discography includes ‘Pericles’ (1968), ‘The Good Companions’ (1974), ‘A Little Night Music’ (1995), ‘Spaceship Earth’ (2008) , and ‘Nine’ (2009).