My absolute favorite British Actress is Dame Judi Dench. I have adored watching her in her romantic comedy TV series of the ‘90’s, "As Time Goes By." It is set in Holland Park, London, which is a lovely area of the city. Ms. Dench, who is 78, told Reader’s Digest that she is now seeking to balance her busy life and relax more. "I love the work, " says Dame Judi. "I'm in the two per cent of the population doing the job they want to. I think that's incredibly lucky. But I took eight weeks off when I finished the play Peter And Alice because that was 12 weeks in London and it was quite exhausting. I spent four weeks in Cornwall in the sun, swimming and lying on the beach, which was glorious."
Ms. Dench has been in the acting Industry since 1957 and has amassed a large collection of well deserved awards including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, seven Laurence Olivier Awards and eleven BAFTAs. She was married to fellow actor Michael Williams from 1971 until his death from lung cancer in 2001. They filmed the TV series "A Fine Romance" together from 1981 to 1984. She has one daughter, actress Finty Williams. She was born in Heyworth, York and attended the Mount School which is a Quaker independent secondary school. Although she suffers with macular degeneration, with one eye "dry" and the other "wet" and has someone read scripts for her, she continues to deliver incredible performances while remaining very down to earth. Upon receiving her Oscar for "Shakespeare in Love" where she appeared onscreen for a scant 8 minutes, Dench joked, "I feel for eight minutes on the screen I should only get a little bit of him." In 1988 she was honored with the title of Dame Commander of the British Empire.
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| Dame Judi playing Jean Pargetter in As Time Goes By |
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| Photo by Caroline Bonarde |
Ms. Dench has been in the acting Industry since 1957 and has amassed a large collection of well deserved awards including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, seven Laurence Olivier Awards and eleven BAFTAs. She was married to fellow actor Michael Williams from 1971 until his death from lung cancer in 2001. They filmed the TV series "A Fine Romance" together from 1981 to 1984. She has one daughter, actress Finty Williams. She was born in Heyworth, York and attended the Mount School which is a Quaker independent secondary school. Although she suffers with macular degeneration, with one eye "dry" and the other "wet" and has someone read scripts for her, she continues to deliver incredible performances while remaining very down to earth. Upon receiving her Oscar for "Shakespeare in Love" where she appeared onscreen for a scant 8 minutes, Dench joked, "I feel for eight minutes on the screen I should only get a little bit of him." In 1988 she was honored with the title of Dame Commander of the British Empire.
