Judi Dench Worked Despite Loss Of Eyesight And Was Nominated For An Oscar At 87

Feb 27, 2022

Dame Judi Dench is an English actress that is famous for her performances on screen as well as on stage. Her work spans a variety of genres and has been critically acclaimed. Dench has received several accolades throughout her six-decade-long career. She won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and four British Academy Television Awards. She also took home six British Academy Film Awards and seven Olivier Awards.

Born Judith Olivia Dench on December 9, 1934, in the Heworth area of York, the star gained contact to the theater through her dad. Her father was a doctor and became the general practitioner for the York Theatre Royal. 

The legendary actress's career began on stage in 1957. Dench made her debut with the Old Vic Company and she played Ophelia in "Hamlet." She performed Shakespearean plays with the company for the next few years. Later, she was a member of the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

Dench was married to fellow actor Michael Williams for 30 years before he passed away from lung cancer in 2001. The couple worked together on the TV series "A Fine Romance" from 1981 to 1984. The show was a commercial and critical success, taking home a British Academy Film Award. The star has not remarried but has been dating David Mills since 2010.

In 2021, Dench was nominated for best-supporting actress at the Academy Awards at the age of 87. The nomination is for her performance in the film "Belfast," which was directed by Kenneth Branagh. Keep reading to learn more about the nomination and Dench's loss of eyesight.

Dench's boyfriend, Mills, opened up about their relationship in September 2021 and revealed that they have no plans to get married. "We hadn't really looked into it before, but, during the lockdown, we had a serious discussion, looking at the pros and cons," he said. "After a lot of thought, we decided against it and thought, 'We are happy to stay as we are.'"

Mills is a conservationist and had to get used to Dench's profession, but the couple has found balance. He added: "It's not easy living in Judi's shadow, and it did take a bit of getting used to, but, because I'm not an actor and competing with her, it's worked out OK."

The actress has had a legendary career but doesn't want to be held back by her age. "I don't want to be told I'm too old to try something," Dench said. "I want to see for myself if I can't do it rather than be told you might have a fall or you can't learn your lines. Let me have a go. Let us all have a go."

Dench continued, "Age is a number. It's something imposed on you … It drives me absolutely spare when people say, 'Are you going to retire? Isn't it time you put your feet up?' Or tell me (my) age."

The star is not ashamed of her age but admits that she did worry about it in the past. "The only time I got really upset was when I was 40, for some reason. I got really upset when I was 40, and I was all right after that. It's that old thing: You are only as old as you feel. It's not to do with age; it's something to do with inside. It's the engine," Dench explained.

In 2012, Dench shared that she had been diagnosed with macular degeneration, which is a medical condition that can cause blurred vision as well as loss of eyesight. This challenge has not stopped the actress from doing what she loves. Dench said to The Guardian in 2021:

"You find a way of just getting about and getting over the things that you find very difficult. I've had to find another way of learning lines and things, which is having great friends of mine repeat them to me over and over and over again. So I have to learn through repetition, and I just hope that people won't notice too much if all the lines are completely hopeless!"

Dench has maintained a good attitude about her loss of eyesight and shared this funny story:

"I was doing the 'Winter's Tale' with Ken Branagh a couple of years ago, playing Paulina, and after we had been running for three weeks or so at the Garrick he said to me – I have a long speech at the end – he said: 'Judi if you were to say that speech about eight feet to your right, you'd be saying it to me and not to the pros' arch.'" 

She added with a laugh, "I rely on people to tell me!"

The star has worked with Branagh on four films, with "Belfast" being the most recent. When the director approached Dench about appearing in the film he took the time to read her the script. "Because I have such trouble with my eyes, he came and read it to me," Dench said. "We had a whole morning, quietly together, while he read it without stopping."

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