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Judi Dench's 50 facts.
1. Dench was born in Heworth, North Riding of Yorkshire.
2. Her mother, Eleanora Olive, was born in Dublin.
3. Her father, Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor, was born in Dorset, and later moved to Dublin, where he was raised.
4. Her father met Dench's mother while he was studying medicine at Trinity College, Dublin.
5. Dench attended The Mount School, a Quaker independent secondary school in York, and became a Quaker.
6. Her brothers, one of whom was actor Jeffery Dench, were born in Tyldesley, Lancashire.
7. Her niece, Emma Dench, is a Roman historian and professor previously at Birkbeck, University of London, and currently at Harvard University.
8. Her full name is Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA.
9. She is an English actress and author.
10. Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company.
11. Performed in several of Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth.
12. Won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer.
13. She drew strong reviews for her leading role in the musical Cabaret in 1968.
14. Dench established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
15. She achieved success in television, in the series A Fine Romance from 1981 until 1984, and in 1992 got a starring role in the television romantic comedy series As Time Goes By.
16. Her film appearances were infrequent and included supporting roles in major films such as A Room with a View supporting Maggie Smith, before rising to international fame for her role as M in GoldenEye, a role she continued to play in James Bond films until Spectre.
17. She received her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown in 1997 and the following year won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Shakespeare in Love.
18. She is a seven-time Oscar nominee.
19. Dench has received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film and television; her competitive awards include six British Academy Film Awards, four BAFTA TV Awards, six Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award.
20. She has also received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Special Olivier Award.
21. In June 2011, she received a fellowship from the British Film Institute (BFI).
22. 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.
23. She has more than once been named number one in polls for Britain's best actor.
24. Through her parents, Dench had regular contact with the theatre.
25. Her father, a physician, was also the GP for the York theatre.
26. Her mother was York theatre wardrobe mistress.
27. Actors often stayed in the Dench household.
28. Though she initially trained as a set designer, she became interested in drama school as her brother Jeff attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. She applied and was accepted, where she was a classmate of Vanessa Redgrave, graduating with a first class degree in drama and four acting prizes, one being the Gold Medal as Outstanding Student.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. The 1966 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles was made to Dench for her performance in Four in the Morning and this was followed in 1968 by a BAFTA Television Best Actress Award for her role in John Hopkins' 1966 BBC drama Talking to a Stranger.
32. Dench's last film of 2011 was Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, a biographical drama film about the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, from the Palmer Raids onwards, including an examination of his private life as a closeted homosexual.
33. She was hand-picked by Eastwood to play Anna Marie Hoover.
34. Dench initially thought a friend was setting her up upon receiving Eastwood's phone call request. "I didn't take it seriously to start with. And then I realised it was really him and that was a tricky conversation," she stated.
35. On 5 February 1971, Dench married British actor Michael Williams.
36. Williams and Dench had their only child, Tara Cressida Frances Williams.
37. Her daughter Tara is an actress known professionally as Finty Williams.
38. Dench and her husband starred together in several stage productions and on the Bob Larbey British television sitcom, A Fine Romance.
39. Michael Williams died from lung cancer in 2001, aged 65.
40. Dench have one grandchild, Finty's son Sam Williams.
41. Dench has been in a relationship with conservationist David Mills since 2010.
42. During a 2014 interview with The Times magazine, she discussed how she never expected to find love again after her husband's death, "I wasn't even prepared to be ready for it. It was very, very gradual and grown up ... It's just wonderful."
43. In early 2012, Dench discussed her macular degeneration, with one eye "dry" and the other "wet", for which she has been treated with injections into the eye. She said that she needs someone to read scripts to her.
44. She also underwent knee surgery in 2013, but stated that she recovered from the procedure well and "It's not an issue for me."
45. Dench has been critical of prejudice in the movie industry against older actresses. She stated in 2014, "I'm tired of being told I'm too old to try something. I should be able to decide for myself if I can't do things and not have someone tell me I'll forget my lines or I'll trip and fall on the set"; and "Age is a number. It's something imposed on you ... It drives me absolutely spare when people say, 'Are you going to retire? Isn't it time you put your feet up?' Or tell me [my] age."
46. In 2013, she spoke about her personal religious faith. Dench, a Quaker, said "I think it informs everything I do ... I couldn't be without it".
47. Dench was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1970.
48. Was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1988.
49. She was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 2005.
50. In June 2011, she became a fellow of the British Film Institute (BFI).
