JUDI DENCH – AGE 86

British national treasure Judi Dench spent the first half of her career on the stage with numerous prestigious theatre companies before venturing into Hollywood with award-winning performances in films such as Mrs. Brown, Shakespeare in Love, and Iris. Born in 1934, the actress trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama before landing her first professional role as Ophelia in Hamlet.

Dench established herself as a Shakespearean during her decade-long tenure with the latter, but she also found time to pursue a film career. Her performances remained consistently excellent as she reached her eighties with several blockbuster credits and accolades under her belt. The actress who played the formidable M in the James Bond franchise revealed that retiring is never an option. Dench confirmed that she would never stop acting because there is nothing else she would rather be doing.