Judi Dench School, a Quaker independent secondary school in York, and became a Quaker. Her brothers, one of whom was actor Jeffery Dench, were born in Tyldesley, Lancashire. Her niece, Emma Dench, is a historian of ancient Rome and professor previously at Birkbeck, University of London, and currently at Harvard University. In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her forte throughout her career. She has more than once been named number one in polls for Britain's best actor. Through her parents, Dench had
Judi Dench franchise's last performance by Pierce Brosnan as Bond. "Die Another Day" received mixed reviews In 2004, Dench appeared as Aereon, an ambassador of the Elemental race who helps uncover the mysterious past of Richard B. Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, in David Twohy's science fiction sequel, "The Chronicles of Riddick". Selected by Diesel, who prompted writers to re-create the character to fit a female persona because he wanted to work with the actress, she called filming "tremendous fun", although she "had absolutely no idea what was going on in the plot". The film was a critical and box office failure.