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.

from movies.yahoo.com

  The Corrections (2007) (announced)
Gnomeo and Juliet (2008) (pre-production) (voice) .... Nurse
Casino Royale (2006) (pre-production) .... M
Notes on a Scandal (2006) (filming) .... Barbara Covett

Pride & Prejudice (2005) .... Lady Catherine de Bourg
Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) .... Laura Henderson
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004) (VG) (voice) .... M
Ladies in Lavender. (2004) .... Ursula
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) .... Aereon
... aka The Chronicles of Riddick: The Director's Cut (USA: director's cut)
Home on the Range (2004) (voice) .... Mrs. Calloway
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2004) (VG) (voice) .... M
... aka Everything or Nothing (USA: short title)
Die Another Day (2002) .... M
... aka D.A.D. (USA: promotional abbreviation)
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) .... Lady Bracknell
... aka Importance d'être constant, L' (France)
Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening (2002) (TV) .... Performer: "Sixteen Going on Seventeen"
The Shipping News (2001) .... Agnis Hamm
... aka Noeuds et dénouements (Canada: French title)
Iris (2001/I) .... Iris Murdoch
"Angelina Ballerina" (2001) TV Series (voice) .... Miss Lilly
Chocolat (2000) .... Armande Voizin
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) (TV) .... Elizabeth

The World Is Not Enough (1999) .... M
... aka Pressure Point (USA: changed title)
... aka T.W.I.N.E. (UK: promotional abbreviation)
Tea with Mussolini (1999) .... Arabella
... aka Te con Mussolini, Un (Italy)
Shakespeare in Love (1998) .... Queen Elizabeth
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) .... M
Mrs. Brown (1997) .... Queen Victoria
... aka Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (USA)
... aka Mrs Brown (USA)
Hamlet (1996) .... Hecuba (long version)
... aka William Shakespeare's Hamlet
GoldenEye (1995) .... M
Jack and Sarah (1995) .... Margaret
"Middlemarch" (1994) (mini) TV Series .... Voice of George Eliot
"The Torch" (1992) (mini) TV Series .... Aba
"As Time Goes By" (1992) TV Series .... Jean Pargetter/Hardcastle
"James Bond Jr." (1991) TV Series (voice) .... Barbara Mawdsley 'M'
Absolute Hell (1991) (TV) .... Christine Foskett
Can You Hear Me Thinking? (1990) (TV) .... Anne

Henry V (1989) .... Mistress Quickly
"Behaving Badly" (1989) (mini) TV Series .... Bridget Mayor
A Handful of Dust (1988) .... Mrs. Beaver
84 Charing Cross Road (1987) .... Nora Doel
Ghosts (1986) (TV) .... Mrs. Alving
A Room with a View (1985) .... In Florence - Eleanor Lavish, a novelist
Wetherby (1985) .... Marcia Pilborough
The Angelic Conversation (1985) .... Narrator
The Browning Version (1985) (TV) .... Millie Crocker-Harris
Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill (1985) (TV) .... Dorrie Edgehill
... aka Star Quality: Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill (UK)
Saigon: Year of the Cat (1983) (TV) .... Barbara Dean
"A Fine Romance" (1981) TV Series .... Laura Dalton
Going Gently (1981) (TV) .... Sister Scarli
"Love in a Cold Climate" (1980) (mini) TV Series .... Aunt Sadie (Lady Alconleigh)
The Cherry Orchard (1980) (TV) .... Madame Ranevskaya

On Giant's Shoulders (1979) (TV) .... Hazel Wiles
... aka BBC2 Play of the Week: On Giant's Shoulders (UK: series title)
Macbeth (1979) (TV) .... Lady Macbeth
Langrishe Go Down (1978) (TV) .... Imogen Langrishe
... aka BBC2 Play of the Week: Langrishe Go Down (UK: series title)
The Comedy of Errors (1978/I) (TV) .... Adriana
Dead Cert (1974) .... Laura Davidson
Luther (1973) .... Katherine

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968) .... Titania
Days to Come (1966) (TV) .... Elizebeth Moris
... aka Play of the Month: Days to Come (UK)
"Talking to a Stranger" (1966) (mini) TV Series .... Terry
He Who Rides a Tiger (1965) .... Joanne
A Study in Terror (1965) .... Sally
... aka Fog
Four in the Morning (1965) .... Wife
The Third Secret (1964) .... Miss Humphries

Hilda Lessways (1959) (TV) .... Hilda Lessways