Judi is the English diminutive of Judith — from the Hebrew *Yehudit* ("woman of Judea, praised"). **Dame Judi Dench (born 1934)** — **English actress; Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for *Shakespeare in Love* (1998) for an eight-minute performance as Queen Elizabeth I — one of the shortest Oscar-winning performances in history**. **Eight Oscar nominations across 1997-2022 — more than any actress except Meryl Streep and Katharine Hepburn at the time of her last nomination**. **Played M, the head of MI6, in seven James Bond films (1995-2012) opposite Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig — the first woman ever cast in the role**. **Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1988); Companion of Honour (2005)**. **Six BAFTAs, two Golden Globes, four Olivier Awards, a Tony**. **Lost most of her central vision to macular degeneration in 2012 but continues acting; learns scripts by audio recording**.
Subject of John Miller's *Judi Dench: With a Crack in Her Voice* (2008).
Judi reduces to nine — the number of Dame.