Dame Judi Dench in PBS’ Behind the Britcom: From Script to Screen. Photo: Bill Young

At 85 years old, Dame Judi Dench is the oldest woman ever to be featured on the cover of British Vogue in its 104-year history. Previously, Jane Fonda held the title for her cover shoot in 2019 at 81 years of age. The actress appears on the cover of the June issue of the fashion magazine for the first time, along with an interview which discusses her 60+ years in the spotlight.

 

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Introducing the June 2020 issue of #BritishVogue where Dame Judi Dench, at 85, makes history as the oldest person ever to star on the cover of Vogue. Before the coronavirus pandemic forced the world into lockdown, @GilesHattersley visited her home in deepest Surrey to discuss everything from why retirement is completely out of the question, to how she has become a social media phenomenon – without being on social media herself. Click the link in bio to read the interview and see the full story in the new issue, on newsstands and available for digital download on Thursday 7 May. #JudiDench wears a trench coat by @DolceGabbana. Photographed by @Nick_Knight and styled by @KPhelan123, with hair by @SamMcKnight1, make-up by @TheValGarland, nails by @MikePocock and set design by @TomoTattle.

A post shared by British Vogue (@britishvogue) on May 4, 2020 at 8:57am PDT

In the interview, Dench revealed she doesn’t like to think about her age, saying it’s silly when people claim “80 is the new 70, or 70 is the new 60.” When asked if she enjoys anything about being 85, she said, “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.”

While Dame Judi does suffer from deteriorating eyesight due to being diagnosed with macular degeneration several years ago, she has showed no signs whatsoever of slowing down. She revealed in the article that she still sends more than 400 Christmas presents every year and got her first tattoo on her 81st birthday — “Carpe diem“, inscribed on her wrist.

Her 60+ year career in stage, television and film began in September 1957 when she made her first professional stage appearance with the Old Vic Company, at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, as Ophelia in Hamlet. The Academy Award-winning, BAFTA Award winning, Golden Globe Award winning, SAG Award winning, Tony Award winning, Laurence Olivier Award winning, Emmy Award nominated actress of widely know for her role as M, the head of MI6 in a number of James Bond films and as the co-star (with Geoffrey Palmer) of the British situation comedy, As Time Goes By.

We had the great good fortune to sit down with Dame Judi Dench back in 2010 for our PBS Special, Behind the Britcom: From Script to Screen. She was (and still is) absolutely the most delightful person on the planet, bar none. What struck us the most was her admitting that what terrified her the most was the time right before going onstage to record every episode of As Time Goes By. We found out later that day that she was to sing “Send in the Clowns” at a July 31 Royal Albert Hall performance to mark Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday.

FYI, that BBC Proms performance was only a few days after she sat down with us….and, As Time Goes By terrified her?