Dame Judi Dench to receive honorary degree for lifelong dedication to the arts

17-Jul-2002 • Bond News

Dame Judi Dench who plays `M` in the Brosnan era Bond films is to receive and honoury degree for he life long dedication to the arts, from the Univeristy of Leeds.

Reuters - One of the country`s best-loved actresses, Dench has enjoyed a varied career spanning the theatre, television and films.

She has been nominated for an Oscar four times and in 1998 received an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth in "Shakespeare in Love".

"She will be honoured at Leeds as an honorary Doctor of Letters..," a university statement said on Wednesday. Dench was born in York, where she first found her love of the stage during a trip to the theatre with her parents at the age of four.

As well as her Oscar success, the actress has won several Baftas (British Film and Television Awards), most recently the best actress gong for her role as novelist Iris Murdoch in "Iris".

She is currently filming the 20th James Bond movie, "Die Another Day", in which she reprises her role as steely MI6 boss M. But she said earlier this year that she would take a break from acting to give herself the opportunity to rest and finally face up to the death of her actor husband of 29 years.

Michael Williams died in January 2001 after a long battle with cancer. Dench threw herself into work in a bid to combat her pain. "I don`t know what I would have done otherwise," she has said in a fitting epitaph to her husband who acted with her in the television situation comedy "A Fine Romance".

Dench will be joined on Wednesday by Nobel laureate and cancer research pioneer Sir Paul Nurse, UK ambassador to Russia Sir Roderic Lyne and long jumper Fiona May. The honorary degrees will be conferred by University Chancellor and television presenter Melvyn Bragg.

Thanks to our regular tipster `Durex` for the alert.