Birthday's to share this week : 7th - 13th December 2014.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week? 

Judi Dench does, on 9th December - check out the tribute to this Birthday Girl at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 7th December

• Ellen Burstyn - Born 1932, turns 82 - Actress
• Jeffrey Wright - Born 1965, turns 49 - Actor
• Tom Waits - Born 1949, turns 65 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Actor

Monday 8th December 

• Rick Baker - Born 1950, turns 64 - Special FX | Make-Up | Actor
• Dominic Monaghan - Born 1976, turns 38 - Actor | Producer
• Deborra-Lee Furness - Born 1955, turns 59 - Actress | Producer
• Kim Bassinger - Born 1953, turns 61 - Actress
• Teri Hatcher - Born 1964, turns 50 - Actress

Tuesday 9th December

• Judi Dench - Born 1934, turns 80 - Actress | Director
• Kirk Douglas - Born 1916, turns 98 - Actor | Producer | Director
• John Malkovich - Born 1953, turns 61 - Actor | Producer
• Beau Bridges - Born 1941, turns 73 - Actor | Producer | Director

Wednesday 10th December

• Kenneth Branagh - Born 1960, turns 54 - Actor | Director | Producer | Writer
• Xavier Samuel - Born 1983, turns 31 - Actor

Thursday 11th December

• Jean-Louis Trintignant - Born 1930, turns 84 - Director | Actor | Writer
• Mos Def - Born 1973, turns 41 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Producer
• Hailee Steinfeld - Born 1996, turns 18 - Actress

Friday 12th December

• Jennifer Connelly - Born 1970, turns 44 - Actress
• Bill Nighy - Born 1949, turns 65 - Actor

Saturday 13th December

• Jamie Foxx - Born 1967, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Steve Buscemi - Born 1957, turns 57 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Dick Van Dyke - Born 1925, turns 89 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Christopher Plummer - Born 1929, turns 85 - Actor | Producer

Judith Olivia Dench was born in York, North Yorkshire, England to mother Eleanora Olive from Dublin, Ireland and father Reginald Arthur from Dorset, England. She attended Mount School, an independent Quaker School in York, and has been a devout Quaker ever since. She then went on to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London where she attended classes with Vanessa Redgrave, and graduated with a first class honours degree in Drama, including the Gold Medal as Outstanding Student.

Growing up she was in regular contact with the world of theatre through her mothers work as a stage wardrobe mistress, her father as the GP for the York Theatre, and the Actors who would frequently stay at the family home. During the 50's she was involved on a non-professional basis in theatre plays gaining her first professional stage role as Ophelia in 'Hamlet' for The Old Vic Company in 1957. She remained with The Old Vic Company until 1961 playing in 'Henry V' and 'Romeo and Juliet' during this time. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961.

In 1964 she made her film debut in 'The Third Secret'. She enjoyed early success with a BAFTA in 1966 for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for 'Four in the Morning' and then again in 1968 the BAFTA for Best Television Actress Award for 'Talking to a Stranger'. After a successful run in the stage production of 'Cabaret' she rejoined the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred intermittently in stage plays for the next twenty years and garnered many accolades and acclaim along the way. Throughout the 70's and 80's she dipped frequently into theatre, television and occasionally radio to ongoing critical acclaim.

Her popularity really began to soar when cast in 1995 as 'M' in the James Bond franchise with Pierce Brosnan assuming the mantle of the MI6 Secret Agent for the fist time in 'Goldeneye'. Two years later came 'Mrs. Brown' with Billy Connolly - a role for which Dench playing Queen Victoria won her fourth BAFTA Award and her first Academy Award nomination - it was a milestone performance that propelled her into the Hollywood mainstream. 1997 also saw a return to her role as 'M' in 'Tomorrow Never Dies', and the next year brought more critical recognition with 'Shakespeare in Love' opposite Ralph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow and a host of other A-Listers. Playing Queen Elizabeth I she won the BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. 1999 came another outing as 'M' in 'The World is Not Enough', and then 'Tea with Mussolini' with Maggie Smith, Cher and Lily Tomlin.

The new century brought 'Chocolat','The Shipping News' and the highly acclaimed 'Iris' giving another Academy Award nomination and BAFTA Award. After 'The Importance of Being Earnest' came 'Die Another Day' in 2002 - the last time for Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, soon to be replaced by Daniel Craig in 2006 with 'Casino Royale' with Dench reprising her role as 'M' for the fifth time. She was to play 'M' twice more in 'Quantum of Solace' and then 'Skyfall' - the latter being the highest grossing Bond film of all time with a global Box Office haul of US$1B+.

In between there have been many other notable performances with the likes of 'Ladies in Lavender' with good friend Maggie Smith, 'Mrs. Henderson Presents' with Bob Hoskins, 'Pride and Prejudice' with Keira Knightly and Donald Sutherland; 'Notes on a Scandal' with Cate Blanchett which earned her a sixth Academy Award nomination. Then came 'Nine' with Sophia Loren, Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard; 'Jane Eyre' with Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell and Mia Wasikowska; 'My Week with Marilyn' with Kenneth Branagh and Michelle Williams; Clint Eastwood's 'J.Edgar' with Leonardo DiCaprio and Naomi Watts; and a cameo alongside Johnny Depp in 'Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides'.

In 2011 she starred with some of the UK's finest acting talent in 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' with a follow-up due for release in 2015 - 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', and then 'Tulip Fever' with Christoph Waltz also due in 2015, with 'Philomena' in 2013 with Steve Coogan in the meantime. She has also lent her voice talents to numerous video game movie spin offs, and 'Home on the Range', 'A Dairy Tale' and 'Angelina Ballerina'.

Dench has 110 acting credits to her name for film and television roles and countless others for treading the boards. She has 67 worldwide award wins and 136 other nominations throughout her illustrious career. These include six Academy Award nominations and one win; nine Golden Globe nominations and two wins; three Primetime Emmy Award nominations; and sixteen BAFTA nominations and eleven wins, amongst many others. She has won the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award more times that you can say 'break a leg' too!

She married British Actor Michael Williams in 1971 - he died from lung cancer in 2001 - with whom she had just one child - daughter Tara Cressida Frances Williams born in 1972, and now also an Actress. Dench was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1970; a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1988; a Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2005; and a Fellow of the British Film Institute in 2011. She is the Patron of numerous theatres and has been awarded honorary degrees from several universities. She actively supports humanitarian causes and charities to provide relief in Africa, India and South America especially.

Judi Dench - a stellar entertainment career and still going strong; much lauded and in demand; strong character driven roles and diverse acting talent and never one to shy away from something new - very Happy 80th Birthday from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-