theOscar Site Facts:
Birth Name:
  • Judith Olivia Dench
Birthplace:
  • York, North Yorkshire, England
Education:
  • Attended Mount School in York
  • Attended Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England (in the same class with Vanessa Redgrave)
Significant Other(s):
  • Husband: Michael Williams, actor; married February 5, 1971; hospitalized in spring 1999 with what was then called "pleurisy"; disclosed he was suffering from cancer in August 1999; died January 11, 2001 at age 65
Family:
  • Father: Reginald Arthur Dench, doctor
  • Mother: Eleanora Dench
  • Brother: Jeffrey Dench, actor (b. 1928)
  • Daughter: Finty Williams, actress (aka Tara Cressida Frances Williams, b. 1972)
Quote:
  • "I don't think anybody can be told how to act. I think you can give advice. But you have to find your own way through it."
Factoids:
  • One the best-loved and most-honoured actresses in British stage & film history
  • Created the role of Sally Bowles in the London premiere of the musical Cabaret
  • Awarded an Order of the British Empire in 1980 and made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1987
  • Made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2005
  • As of 2007, received six Oscar® nominations, all of them when she was already over the age of 60. No other actor or actress collected more nominations when older than 60, the closest runner-ups being Katharine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Laurence Olivier, Spencer Tracy, Melvyn Douglas and Edith Evans with a mere three nominations each.
Feature Film
Acting Credits:
  • 2008: Quantum of Solace
    2006: Casino Royale, Notes on a Scandal, Doogal (voice)
    2005: Pride & Prejudice, Mrs. Henderson Presents
    2004: Ladies in Lavender, The Chronicles of Riddick
    2002: Die Another Day, The Importance of Being Earnest
    2001: The Shipping News, Iris
    2000: Chocolat
    1999: The World Is Not Enough, Tea with Mussolini
    1998: Shakespeare in Love
    1997: (Her Majesty) Mrs. Brown, Tomorrow Never Dies
  • 1996: Hamlet
    1995: GoldenEye, Jack 7amp; Sarah
    1989: Henry V
    1988: A Handful of Dust
    1987: 84 Charing Cross Road
    1985: A Room With a View, Wetherby
    1974: Dead Cert
    1973: Luther
    1968: A Midsummer Night's Dream
    1965: A Study in Terror, He Who Rides a Tiger, Four in the Morning
    1964: The Third Secret
Academy Awards®: