Judi Dench facts: Actor's age, husband, children, films and career revealed

15 February 2024, 15:47

Dame Judi Dench is a true British national institution, and one of the most celebrated actors of all time.

In 2022, Judi was nominated for an Oscar for an eighth time thanks to her role in the critically acclaimed film Belfast.

Known for her vast and eclectic list of films and TV roles, as well as her prolific stage work, Judi Dench has won various accolades throughout her career over more than six decades.

During her career, she won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards and seven Olivier Awards.

She made her debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company, and performed in several of Shakespeare's plays, in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth.

Watch the trailer for Mrs Brown

By the 1980s and 1990s, she had earned critical acclaim for her work on TV, such as the series As Time Goes By, and in films like A Room with a View.

She finally found international fame as M in 1995's GoldenEye, a role she continued to play in eight James Bond films in total.

Judi Dench has been nominated eight times. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love in 1998. Her other Oscar-nominated roles were for Mrs Brown (1997), Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Philomena (2013) and Belfast (2021).

1. How old is Judi Dench and where is she from?

   

   Full name Judith Olivia Dench, she was born on December 9, 1934 in York.

   She celebrated her 89th birthday in 2023.

   Judi was the daughter of an Irish mother and an English father. Her mother, Eleanora Olive was born in Dublin, while her father, Reginald Arthur Dench (1897–1964), was a doctor from Dorset who grew up in Dublin, and who fought in World War I.

   She also had two brothers named Peter and Jeffery (1928–2014), the latter of whom also became an actor.

2. Who was Judi Dench's husband?

   

   Judi Dench married Liverpool actor Michael Williams in 1971.

   They stayed together until his death from lung cancer in 2001.

   

   She has been in a relationship with conservationist David Mills since 2010.

   Speaking to the Times in 2014 she said: "I wasn't even prepared to be ready for [finding love again]. It was very, very gradual and grown up. It's just wonderful."

   

3. Who is Judi Dench's daughter?

   

   Judi Dench has one child with her late husband: daughter Finty Williams.

   Finty was born in 1972, and also became an actress.

   She has had roles in the TV series Born and Bred, and in a number of British films, some alongside her mother (including Mrs Brown and Ladies in Lavender).

   She has also done extensive voice work, including the main character in the animated children's series Angelina Ballerina.