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March 2004

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Dame Judi Dench

Best known: As Jean (Pargetter) Hardcastle on As Time Goes By and from her frequent appearances on award shows.

Born: Judith Olivia Dench on December 9, 1934 in York, England.

Education: Studied at the Mount School in York and then the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. (Her older brother Jeffrey also trained at Central.)

First showbiz experiences: Her parents (Reginald and Olave Dench) were both avid theatergoers and amateur actors so Judi was introduced to the theater at an early age. The future Dame made her stage debut at the age of five playing a snail. After school she auditioned for the Old Vic and ended up with a plum role right off the bat -- that of Ophelia in Hamlet. Over the next few years she worked in the theater, mainly playing Shakespearean roles. Her first major sitcom role was as a translator named Laura in Bob Larbey's romantic comedy A Fine Romance, in which she starred alongside her husband Michael Williams.

Major Awards:
1970 -- Received OBE (Order of the British Empire.)
1988 -- Appointed a Dame of the British Empire.
1998 -- Golden Globe Award for her performance in Mrs. Brown.
1999 -- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Shakespeare in Love.
1999 -- Tony Award for her performance in Amy's View.
2001 -- Golden Globe Award for Last of the Blonde Bombshells.

The above list is only a partial one. All totaled, Dame Judi has either won or been nominated for over 60 varying awards in theater, television and movies.

Other Career Highlights:
Appeared in Kenneth Branagh's 1988 film Henry V.
In 1995, she made her first appearance as M in the James Bond movie Goldeneye.
In 1996, her performance as Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown received wonderful reviews and she was nominated for an Academy Award.
She received another Oscar nomination in 2001 for her role in the film Chocolat. This was followed in 2002 with a nomination for her performance in Iris.

Family life: Judi married Michael Williams in 1971. The couple's daughter Tara (called Finty), was born in 1972. It is Finty's picture that can be seen as the young Jean in the opening credits of ATGB. Dame Judi is also the proud grandmother of Finty's son Sammy. Williams passed away in January of 2001 after battling cancer.

Some Judi Dench trivia:
*She changed the spelling of her name from Judy to Judi when she arrived at the Central School of Drama and there was another student there named Judy.
*Dame Judi first considered being a stage designer or working backstage in the theater before realizing that her talent lay on the stage.
*Dame Judi is a Quaker. Her husband Michael Williams was a Catholic.

By Michelle Street
Editor, The Insider

Edited for Applause Online by Mary Eileen O'Connor