The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Dench set to be voted in as first female member of Garrick Club
DAME JUDI DENCH is set to be named as the first female member of the Garrick Club just days after the 193-year-old institution voted to allow women to join.
The club’s general committee was due to convene yesterday evening to decide whether to approve the membership of the 89-year-old actress.
The Garrick this week voted to allow female members, who were previously only allowed to enter if invited and accompanied by a man.
The West End club was founded in 1831 as a place for actors and patrons of the arts to meet. It was named after the 18th century actor and playwright David Garrick.
Dame Judi’s husband, the Shakespearean actor Michael Williams, is believed to have been a member of the Garrick before his death in 2001 and she often visited the club as his guest.
There is an oil portrait of the actress by Scottish artist Jennifer McRae hanging in the club.
However, Dame Judi was not named among a list of seven prominent women who were put forward as prospective members by existing Garrick members earlier this year.
That list included classicist Dame Mary Beard, former home secretary Amber Rudd and presenter Cathy Newman. The actor Juliet Stevenson, who was also on the list, this week said she would be “interested” in joining the club.
About 60 per cent of Garrick members are understood to have voted in favour of the rule change, with 40 per cent opposing the move. Stephen Fry, James Naughtie, Lord Sumption and Nigel Havers were among the speakers in favour of the move.
The Garrick had come under growing pressure to update its policy in recent months after a leaked membership list highlighted its central role at the heart of Britain’s male establishment.
King Charles ranks among the club’s members, alongside Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, and former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Hollywood actors such as Matthew Macfadyen and Benedict Cumberbatch were also revealed to be members, alongside scores of senior lawyers and judges.
An open letter, signed by more than 80 lawyers in England and Wales, was published in March calling on judges to give up their memberships.
It stated that membership of the club was “incompatible with the core principles of justice, equality and fairness”.
Four senior judges were among those to resign following the public outcry, alongside Simon Case, the head of the Civil Service, and MI6 chief Richard Moore.
Dame Judi is one of Britain’s most celebrated actors, winning critical acclaim over a career spanning seven decades.
She has won 10 Bafta awards, two Golden Globes and an Oscar for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in
in 1998.
More recently, Dame Judi gained international recognition as spy chief M in eight James Bond films.
Dame Judi Dench was unavailable for comment.
The Garrick Club has been contacted for comment.