Born in York, England, on Dec. 9, 1934, to amateur-actor parents, Judith Olivia Dench has been acting since she was 5 years old. Dench rose quickly through the ranks of British theatre, eventually joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961.She made her film debut in The Third Secret (1964) and has appeared in several Shakespeare adaptations, including Kenneth Brannagh's Henry V (1989) and Hamlet (1996). Dench is best known by many Americans as British spy commander "M" in recent James Bond films (beginning with 1996's GoldenEye).
Dench has been Oscar-nominated several times: for Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (1997), Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won Best Supporting Actress for an eight-minute performance as Queen Elizabeth, Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) and Notes on a Scandal (2006). Another honor came in the form of the moniker Dame Judi Dench in 1988.
AddMrs. BrownGrieving widow Queen Victoria (Oscar nominee Judi Dench) withdraws into sadness for years until plainspoken manservant John Brown (Billy Connolly) disrupts her mourning. But as their friendship grows, it results in personal and political ramifications for both of them. Exquisitely filmed and fueled... Read More
AddMrs. Henderson PresentsHaving already cultivated an offbeat reputation among high society in 1930s London, Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) embarks on her newest adventure: transforming an old movie theater into the Windmill, a space that will host, of all things, a nude musical revue. But members of her social circle don't... Read More
AddLadies in LavenderIt's 1936, and two sisters, Janet and Ursula Widdington (Maggie Smith and Judi Dench), are at their beach house in Cornwall for some rest and relaxation. But their idyll is interrupted when they chance upon a mystery man awash on the beach and decide to nurse him back to health. Turns out he's... Read More
Add AllAs Time Goes By: Series 1 and 2This endearing British television series captured sentimental minds and hearts around the world as former lovers Lionel (Geoffrey Palmer) and Jean (Judi Dench) reunite forty years after their first romance. But their new relationship has its own drama, as Jean's daughter's matchmaking games,... Read More
AddAs Time Goes By: Reunion SpecialsPicking up a few years after the popular British series left off, this two-part reunion special drops in on Jean (Judi Dench) and her husband, Lionel (Geoffrey Palmer), former lovers who married after a 40-year separation. Obsessed with becoming a grandmother, Jean prods her daughter Judith and... Read More
