Judi Dench

Judi Dench is a British actor whose career spans classical theatre, television comedy and cinema. She made her professional debut as Ophelia with the Old Vic in 1957 and subsequently worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. Her stage roles have included Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra.

Television brought wider audiences through A Fine Romance, As Time Goes By and Cranford. Dench first played M in the James Bond series in GoldenEye and portrayed Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown. She won an Academy Award for playing Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love, alongside later screen roles in films including Iris and Notes on a Scandal.