Judi Dench Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years, she performed in several of Shakespeare's plays, in such roles as Ophelia in "Hamlet", Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet", and Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth". Although most of her work during this period was in theatre, she also branched into film work and won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer. She drew strong reviews for her leading role in the musical "Cabaret" in 1968. Over the next two decades,
Judi Dench in the West End including the role of Miss Trant in the 1974 musical version of "The Good Companions" at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1981, Dench was due to play Grizabella in the original production of "Cats", but was forced to pull out due to a torn Achilles tendon, leaving Elaine Paige to play the role. She has acted with the National Theatre in London where she played an unforgettable Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1987). In September 1995, she played Desiree Armfeldt in a major revival of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music", for which she won an Olivier