National Treasure: Dame Judi Dench becomes British Vogue's oldest cover star

Actress Dame Judi Dench has become the oldest ever cover star for British Vogue. Photo / British Vogue

Actress Dame Judi Dench has become the oldest ever cover star for British Vogue.

At the age of 85, the Oscar-winning actress has made history by appearing on the cover of the June edition of the magazine, which has been running for more than a century.

Speaking to British Vogue, Dench opened up about career, which has spanned more than 60 years, where she insisted that she had no plans on retiring anytime soon.

View this post on Instagram

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

"No, no, no, no. Don't use that word. Not in this house. Not in here. Wash your mouth out," she said.

The actress said she lived by the words of Dylan Thomas: "'Rage, rage against the dying of the light.' Never was a truer word spoken."

View this post on Instagram

The word “legend” gets thrown around a lot, but in the case of British Vogue’s June cover star, Judi Dench, it’s a more than fitting description. After thrilling audiences for six decades, what she doesn’t know about life and love isn’t worth knowing, so #BritishVogue invited some of the biggest stars on the planet to put their burning questions to Britain’s most beloved actor. Watch as #SamSmith, #Stormzy, #ReeseWitherspoon, #KateMoss, #LaverneCox and more grill the national treasure on everything from her most-used swear word to her short-lived rap career. Watch the full film at the link in bio. Featuring: #JudiDench wearing custom-made @CatherineWalkerLondon and @AnyaTaylorJoy, @CaraDelevingne, @CharlizeAfrica, @CushJumboHere, #DanielCraig, @EllaBalinska, @FrankieGoesToHayward, @KateMossAgency, @KelvHarrJr, @LaverneCox, @NaomiGScott, @OrlandoBloom, @PoppyDelevingne, @ReeseWitherspoon, @RizAhmed, @SamSmith, @IanMcKellen and #Stormzy. Directed and edited by @Kloss_Films, DoP @JaimeAckroyd and produced by @TheRealMinnieCarver, with styling by @KPhelan123, hair by @SamMcKnight1, make-up by @TheValGarland and nails by @MikePocock.

A post shared by British Vogue (@britishvogue) on May 4, 2020 at 9:31am PDT

Dench revealed that one of the most memorable roles she played was M in the Bond franchise.

When asked if a woman could ever be cast as the spy, she said: "I don't think Ian Fleming would want a female Bond."

Female action leads are a perfectly good thing, she said, but "call it something else, then".

She also admitted her dream role would be to play someone "who everyone thinks is a kindly, saintly, beatified kind of person, and she's actually killing people."

Dench was photographed just before the lockdown, but part of her interview was after the lockdown, where she shared her experiences self-isolating at home in Surrey.

"I am sure I feel like everyone else, such unprecedented times are quite hard to comprehend," she says.

"What is a good thing is that it has made people aware of the predicament of others who are completely alone. If a great deal of kindness comes out of this, then that will be a plus."

She added: "I haven't got my family with me, but we are keeping in touch lots by phone calls and FaceTime.

"I am disciplining myself to learn all the sonnets. I try to learn something new every day, anything."

View this post on Instagram

After six decades on screen and stage, it’s safe to say Judi Dench commands public affection on an industrial scale. In the June 2020 issue, Dench invited #BritishVogue inside her Surrey home to discuss love and marriage (she’s had four proposals), her expansive repertoire of awards (including 11 BAFTAs and one Oscar), and a brief fling with rap music, delivering a message of hope at a time when we need it most. Read the full interview with @GilesHattersley at the link in bio, and see the full story in the new issue on newsstands and available for digital download Thursday 7 May. #JudiDench wears a coat by #GiorgioArmaniPrivé and dress by @_LA_Collection_. 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 9:15am PDT

Edward Enninful, the editor, called her "the unassailable queen of stage and screen".

"She brings great perspective and a message of hope from her own quarantine in the English countryside," he said.

"Ever modest, the dame is not a fan of the term 'national treasure'. But treasure her we do. Now more than ever."