(December 9, 1934–     ): Academy Award–winning British actress who won the part of M opposite Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye and continued to play the part into the Daniel Craig era, appearing in Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall.

Her style: tough, no-nonsense, ballsy. She seldom cut James Bond a break but respected the hell out of him. Their relationship culminated in Skyfall, when she herself became the target of Silva (Javier Bardem), a ruthless former MI6 operative with revenge on his mind.

A native of York, North Yorkshire, England, Dench has been nominated seven times for an Academy Award, winning for Best Supporting Actress as a marvelous Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love (1998). She was also nominated for Mrs. Brown (1997), Best Actress; Chocolat (2000), Best Supporting Actress; Iris (2001), Best Actress; Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005), Best Actress; Notes on a Scandal (2006), Best Actress; and Philomena (2013), Best Actress. Dench made her feature debut as Miss Humphries in director Charles Crichton’s crime drama The Third Secret (1964).