Judi Dench Talks About Being a Late Bloomer in Love and Career

She Was Discouraged From Making Movies.
She’s won an Oscar and two Golden Globes, but early on in her career a prominent director told Judi she “would never make films [because I had] the wrong face.” Undeterred, she’d go on to act in more than 60 movies.

Her Marriage Was Full Of Laughter.

Michael used to laugh, and when he laughed, he used to cry,” Judi, 90, says about her late husband, British actor Michael Williams, with whom she has a daughter, 52-year-old actress Finty Williams. The couple were happily married for 30 years.

She’s A Tree Hugger.

“If you’ve got any room at all, plant a tree,” says Judi. “Because it’s a living thing, you can watch it grow and every time you come back to it, the tree will have changed.” Over The star loves to the years, Judi’s planted plant trees more than 100 trees on her six-acre property in Surrey, England, in honor of friends and family. “I think of my trees as part of my extended family.”

She’s Still Insecure.

Even after her impressive awards and accolades, she admits to feeling insecure and continually strives to improve her performances.

She’s A Late Bloomer.

Judi didn’t marry until her late 30s, and all seven of her Academy Award nominations came after the age of 60.

She Doesn’t Like Wriggly Things.

“I’m a person who is frightened of a worm because one jumped inside my sandal when I was a little girl, and we couldn’t get it out,” says the star, who was panic-stricken when a snake used in a 1987 theater production of “Antony and Cleopatra” found its way into her wig. “I was so scared I lost my voice for two days!”

She Enjoys Skinny-Dipping.

“Well, I do that because we’re lucky and we have a pool, so you can quietly do it sometimes if somebody isn’t going to come around … I don’t want to be caught at all!”