Judi Dench | 87 years old

Judi Dench has a long and illustrious career on stage, film, and television. She was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 1970 and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1988 after winning the British Academy Award five times. Dench made her professional stage debut as Ophelia in the Old Vic’s Hamlet production in 1957. She worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, parlaying a prolific stage career. She soon entered films, playing a minor role in The Third Secret.

Dench’s name did not become known to a certain degree until the mid-1980s. Following her supporting role in Henry V, she shifted her focus to the present with her role as M in GoldenEye. She reprised the position in the subsequent Brosnan 007 films, bringing a flinty beauty to a typically male role. Dench’s success as M had the added benefit of getting her to a new audience, and she received more international acclaim in 1997. Dench also started appearing on television and performing again on the stage, even though her film career had already become increasingly high-profile. She is currently heavily involved in numerous philanthropic activities and has no plans to retire from acting yet.