Judy Dench Biography
A distinguished and much-heralded actress — widely recognized as one of Great Britain’s greatest living performers — Dame Judi Dench spent much of her career concentrating on stage and television in her native England rather pursuing big screen roles. It was when she hit her fifties that she began to find rich and rewarding movie roles that allowed international audiences the chance to marvel at her gifts. Petite, blonde and husky-voiced, she has proven equally adept at everything from Shakespeare and the classics to musical comedy to contemporary drama. Devotees of British sitcoms will recognize her from her starring turns in “A Fine Romance” (1981-84), opposite her late husband Michael Williams, and “As Time Goes By” (1992-98, 2000- ) with Geoffrey Palmer.
The daughter of a doctor, Dench was born and raised in York and made her acting debut in the city’s cycle of mystery plays, in which both her father and older brother Jeffrey also appeared. After graduating from London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, she made an auspicious debut with the Old Vic Theatre Company as Ophelia in “Hamlet” in 1957. The following year, Dench made her only (to date) Broadway appearance with the Old Vic and remained with the troupe until 1961, excelling in such roles as Hermia in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1960) and Isabella in “Measure for Measure” (1962). Throughout the 1960s, she continued to add one strong characterization after another. As Sally Bowles in the 1968 London staging of “Cabaret”, Dench delivered what many feel is the definitive interpretation of the role. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1969, she spent much of the next two decades amassing an impressive body of work and earning numerous accolades. Among her most notable roles were Lady Macbeth (opposite Ian McKellen) in “Macbeth” (1977-78), Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Earnest” (1982), Cleopatra in “Antony and Cleopatra” (1987-88) and Ranyevskaya in “The Cherry Orchard” (1989-90). In 1996, Dench became the first actress to win two Olivier Awards in the same year, for the play “Absolute Hell” and for her musical turn as Desiree in “A Little Night Music”. In 1997, she earned raves as an aging actress in David Hare’s acclaimed “Amy’s View” (adding a Tony Award to her collection when she reprised the role in a 1999 Broadway outing), in the title role of “Filumena” (1998) and as the matriarch of a theatrical clan in the Peter Hall-directed revival of “The Royal Family” (2001).
In those rare instances when she did act in films as a young woman, Dench often delivered remarkable performances. She was memorable as a young wife in the little-seen “Four in the Morning” (1965) and was majestic as Titania in Peter Hall’s filming of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1968). From the mid-80s on, Dench’s screen presence increased. In David Hare’s provocative “Wetherby” (1985), she and Ian Holm were a married couple who become caught up in the personal turmoil of their friend (Vanessa Redgrave). She demonstrated her range with diverse portrayals including a flighty romance novelist in “A Room With a View” (1986), Anthony Hopkins’ jealous wife in “84 Charing Cross Road” (1987), Rupert Graves’ materialistic mother in “A Handful of Dust” (1988) and the lusty Mistress Quickly in Kenneth Branagh’s “Henry V” (1989).
Her casting as M, the superior of James Bond (Pierce Brosnan), in “GoldenEye” (1995) vividly demonstrated the producers’ efforts to update the franchise for the 90s and she reprised the role in “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), “The World Is Not Enough” (1999) and “Die Another Day” (2002), and she was back for “Casino Royale” (lensed 2006), the first film with Daniel Craig as 007. Remarkably, in a career that spanned some 40 years, Dench had never played the lead in a film until she was cast as the widowed Queen Victoria who embarks on a questionable relationship with her Scottish manservant (Billy Connolly) in the John Madden-directed “(Her Majesty) Mrs. Brown” (1997). The film was originally intended as a made-for-British-TV-movie with the role of the monarch earmarked for Elizabeth Taylor. When Taylor fell ill, Dench was cast and it was released theatrically. Her performance earned the actress some of the best reviews of her career to that date. Additionally, she received many accolades for the role, including a richly deserved Best Actress Academy Award nomination. As a follow-up, director Madden cast her as another venerable British monarch, this time Queen Elizabeth I, in “Shakespeare in Love” (1998). Although Dench only appeared in a handful of scenes totaling approximately eight minutes, she made such a strong impression as the Virgin Queen that she was awarded that year’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
Now recognized internationally, Dench returned to the New York stage for the first time in close to 40 years, reprising her triumphant portrayal of a famous actress clashing ideologically with her daughter in “Amy’s View”, for which she earned the Tony Award. Her run was briefly interrupted when she returned to England to care for her husband, Michael Williams, who had been diagnosed with cancer. By that time, she could be seen on the big screen as an eccentric artist living as an expatriate in 1930s Italy in “Tea With Mussolini” (1999). The following year, Dench headlined the HBO original “The Last of the Blonde Bombshells”, playing a feisty widow who looks back on her life as a saxophone player in a WWII-era swing band. The actress agreed to provide the narration for the affecting documentary “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport” before gracing screens again in the pivotal role of a crusty villager who is welcoming to the free-spirited Juliette Binoche in the Lasse Hallstrom-directed “Chocolat” (both 2000). The latter netted Dench yet another Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress.
Following her husband’s death in January 2001, she continued to work, turning in two rich, very different performances. Hallstrom cast her as another crusty oldster, this time a Canadian woman assisting her nephew on his journey of self-discovery in “The Shipping News” (2001). Dench then undertook the demanding role of British novelist Iris Murdoch in the biopic “Iris”, based on the memoirs of Murdoch’s husband John Bayley. The actress had the challenge of playing a vibrant, intelligent woman who gradually succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease. As with everything she has done, Dench offered an impeccable and deeply moving performance which the members of the Academy recognized with a Best Actress nomination. She was back in period clothing for her follow-up, portraying the indomitable Lady Bracknell in a remake of Oscar Wilde’s classic play “The Importance of Being Earnest” (2002). Also in 2002, Dench returned as M in the James Bond action feature “Die Another Day,” which starred Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry.
After a brief sabbatical from screen roles in she lent her voice to the animated feature “Home on the Range” (2004) and James Bond video games, Dench made a welcome return to the big screen in 2004, albeit in the unlikely vehicle “The Chronicles of Riddick,” director David Twohy’s sci-fi/action sequel to his cult hit “Pitch Black” which helped launch Vin Diesel’s career. Dench played Aereon, an ethereal Elemental who helps Riddick (Diesel) learn the secrets of his origin. She made for an appropriately imperious Lady Catherine de Bourg in 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice,” director Joe Wright’s lively adaptation of the Jane Austen classic starring Keira Knightly, and that same year she headlined director Stephen Frears’ “Mrs. Henderson Presents” as Laura Henderson, a widow who becomes a partner in Britain’s Windmill Theater during World War II and, in attempt to provide a spark for her downtrodden nation, hopes to allow her actresses to perform in the nude.
- Also Credited As:
Dame Judi Dench, Judith Olivia Dench - Born:
on 12/09/34 in York, England - Job Titles:
Actor, Director
Family
- Brother: Jeffrey Dench. older
- Daughter: Finty Williams. born in 1972; film acting debut in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” (1993); appeared as one of Victoria’s daughters in “(Her Majesty) Mrs. Brown”
- Father: Reginald Arthur Dench.
- Grandson: Sam Williams. born in 1997
- Mother: Eleanora Dench.
- : has two siblings
Significant Others
- Husband: Michael Williams. born on July 9, 1935; married on February 5, 1971; Roman Catholic; hospitalized in spring 1999 with what was then called “pleurisy”; disclosed he was suffering with cancer in August 1999; died on January 11, 2001 at age 65
Education
- Central School of Speech and Drama, London, England
- Mount School, York, England
Milestones
- 1957 Member of the Old Vic Company, London
- 1957 London stage debut with the Old Vic as Ophelia in “Hamlet”
- 1958 Broadway debut with the Old Vic in “Henry V”
- 1961 Played Juliet in a production of “Romeo and Juliet” directed by Franco Zeffirelli
- 1962 First collaboration with Ian Holm, a stage production of “The Cherry Orchard”
- 1964 Film acting debut, “The Third Secret”
- 1965 Breakthrough screen role in “Four in the Morning”
- 1967 First TV appearance in England, “Talking to a Stranger” (date approximate)
- 1968 Won critical praise as Sally Bowles in the London stage version of “Cabaret”
- 1969 Joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
- 1969 Played Titania in Peter Hall’s film version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
- 1982 Won praise for her stage role as Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”
- 1983 Appeared in the British TV production “Saigon - Year of the Cat”, directed by Stephen Frears and written by David Hare
- 1983 Originated the role of Barbara in “Pack of Lies”
- 1985 Appeared in the British series “Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill”
- 1985 Co-starred with Vanessa Redgrave in “Wetherby”, directed by David Hare
- 1986 Had featured role of Miss Eleanor Lavish in the Merchant-Ivory production “A Room With a View”
- 1987 Co-starred with Ian Holm in the British adaptation of Noel Coward’s “Mr. and Mrs Edgehill” (shown on PBS in the USA)
- 1987 Named Dame Commander of the British Empire
- 1988 Co-starred in “A Handful of Dust”
- 1989 Played Gertrude to Daniel Day-Lewis’ “Hamlet” at the National Theatre
- 1989 Played Mistress Quickly in Branagh’s “Henry V”
- 1989 Stage directing debut “Look Back in Anger” for Kenneth Branagh’s Renaissance Theater Company; production starred Branagh, Dench and Emma Thompson; filmed for and shown on US TV on Bravo in 1993; TV production directed by David Jones
- 1992 Co-starred with Geoffrey Palmer in the British sitcom “As Time Goes By”
- 1995 Appeared in “GoldenEye” as M
- 1996 Made cameo appearance as Hecuba in Kenneth Branagh’s full-length film of “Hamlet”
- 1997 First leading role in a feature, portrayed Queen Victoria in “(Her Majesty) Mrs. Brown”, directed by John Madden; nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award
- 1997 Reprised role of M in “Tomorrow Never Dies”
- 1998 Cast as Queen Elizabeth I in “Shakespeare in Love”, directed by Madden
- 1999 Appeared alongside Cher, Maggie Smith, Lily Tomlin and Joan Plowright in Franco Zeffirelli’s “Tea With Mussolini”
- 1999 Once again played M in the James Bond thriller “The World Is Not Enough”
- 1999 Returned to Broadway for the first time in close to 40 years to reprise her London triumph in “Amy’s View”; briefly left show in late June to return to England to be with her husband who had been hospitalized
- 2000 Had supporting role as a crusty old woman in “Chocolat”, directed by Lasse Hallstrom; received Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination
- 2000 Narrated the Oscar-winning documentary “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories From the Kindertransport”
- 2000 Starred in the HBO original “The Last of the Blonde Bombshells”; reteamed with Ian Holm; received Emmy nomination
- 2001 Cast as British writer Iris Murdoch, who succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease, in the biopic “Iris”; picked up a Best Actress Oscar nomination
- 2001 Headlined a London stage production of “The Royal Family”
- 2001 Reteamed with Hallstrom to play Kevin Spacey’s aunt in “The Shipping News”
- 2002 Played Lady Bracknell in remake of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”
- 2002 Reprised role as M in “Die Another Day”
- 2002 Starred opposite Maggie Smith in David Hare’s stage drama “The Breath of Life”
- 2004 Cast as Aereon opposite Vin Diesel in “The Chronicles of Riddick”
- 2005 Cast as Lady Catherine de Bourg in “Pride and Prejudice,” an adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, directed by Joe Wright
- 2005 Portrayed Laura Henderson in “Mrs. Henderson Presents” directed by Stephen Frears
- Performed the title role of Brecht’s “Mother Courage” for the RSC at the Barbican Theatre
- Portrayed Cleopatra in an acclaimed stage production at The National Theatre
- Professional stage debut as the Virgin Mary in the York cycle of mystery plays; appeared with her father and older brother; her mother worked on the costumes
- Starred in David Hare’s play “Amy’s View” in London
- Starred opposite Ian McKellen in “Macbeth”
- Starred opposite her husband Michael Williams in the British comedy series “A Fine Romance” (London Weekly Television)
- Will reprise her role as M in “Casino Royale” (lensed 2006)
Lysette Anthony Biography
Top fashion photographer David Bailey once called Lysette Anthony “The Face of the Eighties”, but Anthony took the funds from her youthful career as an international model and invested them in acting lessons, eventually abandoning modeling altogether when the acting roles began coming full force. The daughter of actors Michael Anthony and Bernadette Miles, Anthony was the youngest member in the National Youth Theatre in her native England when she joined at age 14. Early roles were in TV remakes of classics, such as “Ivanhoe” and “Oliver Twist” (both CBS, 1982) as well as Lady Sarah in the miniseries “Princess Daisy” (NBC, 1983). She portrayed Angelique in NBC’s 1991 update of “Dark Shadows” and scored a hit with critics as Sydney Pollack’s aerobics instructor girlfriend in Woody Allen’s “Husbands and Wives” (1992). Anthony found herself in demand and she was cast as the second lead in “Look Who’s Talking Now” (1993) and in leading roles in two 1994 TV-movies, “The Hard Truth” (HBO) and “Target of Suspicion” (USA). Anthony appeared on the big screen in two send-ups of classic tales, “Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde” and Mel Brooks’ “Dracula: Dead and Loving It” (both 1995).
- Born:
on 09/26/63 in London, England - Job Titles:
Actor, Model, Producer
Family
- Father: Michael Anthony. operated touring company, Stage Arts Players; divorced from Anthony’s mother; died on February 14, 1998 at age 86
- Half-sister: Frances Anthony Butlin. older; from father’s marriage to Mary Mays
- Mother: Bernadette Milnes. operated touring company, Stage Arts Players; divorced from Anthony’s father
Significant Others
- Husband: David F Price. married on April 23, 1999
- Husband: Luc Leestemaker. born in The Netherlands; divorced
Milestones
- 1973 Joined parents’ theater company
- 1977 Became member of National Youth Theater
- 1979 Discovered by photographer David Bailey; began modeling career
- 1982 US TV debut as Lady Rowena in “Ivanhoe” (CBS)
- 1983 Film debut as Princess Lyssa in “Krull”
- 1990 Starred in TNT movie “A Ghost in Monte Carlo”
- 1991 First Hollywood film, Blake Edwards’ “Switch”
- 1991 Played Angelique on TV remake of “Dark Shadows”
- 1992 Breakthrough screen role as Sydney Pollack’s girlfriend in Woody Allen’s “Husbands and Wives”
- 1998 Portrayed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the London production of the comedy “Jackie”
- Appeared on BBC-TV series “Three Up, Two Down”
- Born in London, England
- Formed Barnaby Films
- Left modeling to devote full time to acting
Victoria Beckham: David’s ’Romantic’ – Also, Tidy
Victoria Beckham is just your average mother, balancing work, family – and her hot soccer star husband.
Talking on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM morning show Wednesday about her life as a Hollywood housewife, Beckham, 33, said of her and talked about her life as a Hollywood mom of three boys: Brooklyn, 8, Romeo, 5, and Cruz, 2.
“I think they think everybody’s mommy is a Spice Girl,” she said when asked for her children’s opinion of their parents’ celebrity status. “I just had my hair dyed the other day and I got in the car and they looked at me and said, ’Oh my goodness, it’s Posh Spice. She’s back.’ ”
And, like all normal couples, Victoria and husband David Beckham have their major differences. “He’s very tidy, and I am not,” she says. How organized is he? “Even our ’fridge is color coded,” she says.
When it comes to cleaning, “David vacuums in straight lines. And if anyone walks on the carpet he gets upset.”
Not that it’s all about cleaning. Even after eight years of marriage, “He’s really romantic,” she says. “He’s very good at sending flowers and cards.”
’Britney’s Far More Interesting’
Victoria also chatted with Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show airing Thursday and told of how she deals with paparazzi.
“When we first got here, it was really intense. There was tons of press every single day,” she says. “And then they kind of figured out that actually we’re quite boring and Britney’s far more interesting, and so they go to her house. We’re not out at nightclubs every night. We’re a bit boring for them I think.”
Although the Beckhams are not used to Halloween festivities in their native England, they are adapting well to American culture. “I’ve got three Batmans at home right now,” she says of her sons’ costumes. “We will go trick or treating tonight.”
And for those who are looking for tips on how to dress as Victoria Beckham for Halloween costume, the Spice Girl advises, “Don’t smile at all. You have to look really miserable. Like really miserable. Annoyed. And wear a short skirt, very high heels and a bob hairstyle.”