Dame Judi Dench has a body of work that testifies to her incredible talent. The 85-year-old Oscar-winning actress can now add another honor to her esteemed list. Judi graces the cover of the June issue of British Vogue, making her the publication's oldest cover star.
The star of stage and screen is radiant on the magazine's cover. She wears a floral trench coat by Dolce & Gabbana, but her striking face and subtle smile steal the show. The photos of Judi were taken in early March.
The interview took place as coronavirus shutdowns were beginning to touch the UK. Judi was self-isolating at her home in Surrey with her partner, 77-year-old local conservationist David Mills. She took the orders seriously but approached it with her signature attitude and lightness. While people all over the world were slowing down and thinking of the future of their careers, Judi expressed no interest in slowing down anytime soon.
Dame Judi Dench shared her wisdom and magnetism with fans in her sit-down with British Vogue. The 85-year-old graces the cover of the June issue, making her the oldest person to ever do so. The photo shoot for the issue took place before lockdowns reached the UK.
By the time of the interview, Judi was self-isolating at her home in Surrey with her partner, 77-year-old conservationist David Mills. She's lived there for 35 years. In the interview, she said she was taking the orders seriously and later touched on what she'd noticed since the news broke.
Early in the interview, the 85-year-old Oscar-winning actress discussed the topic of some plush white ears she had worn in a recent video. "I don’t do social media at all," she explained.
"It was only because I had been given the ears by my daughter, Fint. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. A bit of lighthearted fun to try and make people smile, hopefully."
The ears appeared in a video Judi's daughter, Finty Williams, shared on Twitter. "Oh … there you are!" Judi says in it, charisma exuding. "Just keep laughing. That's all we can do."
The lighthearted video was what people needed to see. It's been viewed over 5 million times.
"I am sure I feel like everyone else, such unprecedented times are quite hard to comprehend," Judy said in the in interview. She went on to note her concerns for the less fortunate.
"What is a good thing is that it has made people aware of the predicament of others who are completely alone," she continued. "If a great deal of kindness comes out of this, then that will be a plus."
Later, she acknowledged her privilege in getting to have a garden to enjoy. "We have the incredible bonus of glorious weather at the moment, and for me it is the most wonderful time of year," she said.
"To see the trees coming into blossom and daffodils in the garden, they certainly give you hope, and we need a lot of that at the moment."
"I am very aware of people who may not have a garden and are not as fortunate to be able to sit outside in the sunshine," she noted.
The conversation turned to age. When asked about what she loves about being 85, she honestly replied, "Nothing."
"I don’t like it at all. I don’t think about it. I don’t want to think about it. They say age is an attitude," she said, before adding, "it’s horrible."
"I saw Mags — Maggie Smith — the other day, and she said, 'My god, I think they’re going to stop me driving my car,'" she revealed. Judi herself stopped driving a few years back due to deteriorating eyesight.
"It’s the most terrible shock to your system. Ghastly. It’s terrible to be so dependent on people."
Luckily, she has Finty and her grandson, 22-year-old Sam, as a support system. "She cares hugely about everybody. That’s something that I’ve always known and have been brought up with, you know," Finty explained.
"If people are hurting, they call her. But I think it gets her down a lot, yes. There were lots of things that she used to be able to do that she can’t do anymore, you know, like needlework and handwriting letters."
Judi and Sam speak every day, sometimes multiple times. He's opened her up to all sorts of new things, from football to Ed Sheeran. Sam even posted a video of the two of them dancing on TikTok, and it was incredible.
Finty admitted that gracing the British Vogue cover meant a lot to Judi. "It meant an awful lot to her. This age thing, I think, affects very much how she feels about herself and this gave her just that little boost of confidence to make her go, 'Oh, maybe I’m still OK,'" she revealed.
"Then of course after the photo shoot, she came back literally thinking she was Beyoncé."
At another point in the interview, Judi was asked about retiring. She shut it down immediately. "No, no, no, no. Don’t use that word, Giles. Not in this house. Not here. Wash your mouth out!"
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light," she continued, quoting Dylan Thomas.
"Never was a truer word spoken. Pretty depressing. Anyway … "
With her free time while home, Judi is determined to learn new things and stay in touch with her family. "I haven’t got my family with me, but we are keeping in touch lots by phone calls and FaceTime," she said.
"I am disciplining myself to learn all the sonnets. I try to learn something new every day, anything."
It's clear that the question of age looms around Judi, but she refuses to give it power. She's determined to return to work when things open back up. Slowing down is right for some people, but it's not even a thought for a powerhouse like Dame Judi.
