Dame Judi Dench has had numerous titles conferred upon her, such as Officer of the British Empire, Dame Commander, Oscar winner, and so on. We would like to add Best English Actress and Coolest Person Over 70, because honestly – who is cooler than Judi Dench? She not only manages to be one of the biggest stage draws on earth, performing in highly vaunted Shakespeare productions, but also manages to be effortlessly hip in the last five James Bond films and comedies like “Mrs. Henderson Presents”. No one knows how she ended up starring with Vin Diesel in “The Chronicles of Riddick”, but somehow, like everything she does, it just worked.
Hollywood’s favorite Dame was born on December 9, 1934 in York, North Yorkshire where she was raised as a Quaker. She began her acting career with training at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London in the 1950s, and joined repertory companies in Oxford and Nottingham before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961. She has also performed consistently in West End productions, and has been bestowed with nearly every major British theatre award at least once, including a record-holding six Laurence Olivier Awards. She was active in film and television before becoming an international star in the 90s, and most of her screen work during those years consisted of period pieces, Shakespeare adaptations, and British television movies.
Considering her pedigree, her star-making role as a Hollywood sensation is somewhat ironic. As MI6 boss M, Dench brought a gravitas rarely seen in the James Bond franchise to the role of Bond’s stately supervisor in the 1995 entry “Goldeneye”, the inaugural Bond outing for Pierce Brosnan. Dench’s formidable screen presence and sly sense of humor brought her a slew of roles, including Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet”, “Mrs. Brown”, and “Shakespeare in Love”. Her roughly eight-minute appearance in the latter film won her an Oscar, and though short, her performance as Elizabeth I was nothing short of blissful. She has been nominated for the Oscar three more times, for her performance opposite Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche in “Chocolat”, 2005’s lovely “Mrs. Henderson Presents”, and for “Iris”. “Iris” is notable in that Kate Winslet was also nominated for the film, playing a younger version of the titular character, British writer Iris Murdoch.
Dench is preparing to suit up as M once again for the as-yet-untitled 22nd Bond film, having just lit up the screen opposite Daniel Craig in “Casino Royale”. Her latest film, “Notes on a Scandal”, has earned her a Golden Globe nomination, and her intense performance alongside Cate Blanchett has been called a career-best by many.