Dench, Dame Judi, 1934-, British actress, b. York, England, as Judith Olivia Dench. She studied at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, London, and made her debut (1957) as Ophelia in the Old Vic's production of Hamlet. In addition to her many Shakespearean parts, she has exhibited her great versatility in dramas by Chekhov, Brecht, Noel Coward, Shaw, Pirandello, and many others, as well as in such musicals as Cabaret (1968) and A Little Night Music (1996). She won plaudits in David Hare's Amy's Way, both in the West End (1998) and on Broadway (1999). Primarily a stage actress, she has also appeared in films—84 Charing Cross Road (1987); the critically acclaimed Mrs. Brown (1997), in which she played Queen Victoria; Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won an Academy Award for her role as Queen Elizabeth I; Tea with Mussolini (1999); and Iris (2001), a portrayal of the late years of the novelist Iris Murdoch. She has also appeared frequently on British television. Dench began directing plays in 1988.