casi . PEOPLE & + JudiDench— 4#% vee from stage star to rao icon Sie ist das ates lebibel — und ein Hit in den soxialen Medien. 20 Spoten 8/2020, Propueou can't cal Judi Dench lazy when tributing to soci- exyburshesbeen working particu- larly hard recently 10 boost morale. Who knows, pe hhaps she feltpressured to make up forher rolein the strange Cats film, where her cat character horified viewers by appearing ‘toweara coat made ofitsown fur: Dench has provided vital comic relief during this time of crisis, mostly with silly social media clips—a Twitter video of her wear inga dog hat with pop-up ears in which she tells us to “keep laughing” racked up 5.4 million views. Now she has given us a much bigger pick-me-up by becoming, at 85, British Vogue's oldest cover star (On the front page of the magazine's June issue, the Oscar-winner rocks a floral Dolce & Gabbana coat. Butherout- fitisnotthe moststriking thingaboutthe picture. What you notice immediately are her stylish pixie haircut and sparkling blue eyes. And yes, her wrinkled skin doesn't go unnoticed, either —unsurpris- ingly because fashion magazines, like the rest of society, aren't exactly known for celebrating getting older ‘There are several encouraging mes- sages to take from the cover First,could it bbe that the age-phobic fashion world has finally realized that women don'tbecome old and unattractive the moment they hit 402 (And that readers won't desert magazines that choose to show them.) Ie's true that Dench is not exactly an everywoman. Her megawatt star power means she can, to an extent, escape the prejudices usually directed at older peo- ple. But seeing as publisher Condé Nast says the average Vogue reader is 39 for printand 44 for online, there's chance that this issue will enable readers to feel more represented age-wise. In turn chis could encourage the magazine toinclude more olderstars in the future, But the cover isalso encouraging for a bazillion other reasons. At 85, Dench. is in one of the highest-risk groups for Covid-19; as her issue hits the news- stands, talk continues of an extended lockdown for the over-70s. In other words, we're all thinking about the potential physical consequences of PrOPLE getting older.In this context, photosofher zgrinning mischievously feel defiant. It’s for this same reason that her light-hearted social media videos have been such big hits. Along with the dog- hat offering, Dench did a TikTok dance ‘with her grandson and went viral after teaming up with actor and comedian Gyles Brandreth fora reading of Edward Lear's nonsense poem “The Owl and the Pussy-cat” ‘Also, while the interview compares Dench toa “cultural tea cosy’, the con- vversation shows she's much sharper than that. Take her pleasingly blunt response to her outfit in Cats, She describes her cloak as being "Like five foxes fucking ‘on my back” Society likes to patronize ‘older people by pretending they are uni- versally friendly. As well as giving us a look at how she operates on set, Dench’s ‘comment that she can "be very difficult ifsomebody takes me for granted” hints that well. don’tcry thacattitude with her. Besides, while we continue tofetishize youth — just thinkof the eibutes to how the BBC's series Normal People shows the intensity of being young —a “pin- sharp” depiction, went a recent Guardian ‘editorial of “the unforgettable intensity of first love and lust — Dench reminds us that there's plenty of inspiration and vivacity to be found among the senior ‘generation, too. The psychotherapist Esther Perel recently spoke in a Financial ‘Times podcast about how grandparents discussing difficult periods in theirlives ‘with younger relatives may bea way of passing resilience down the generations. | was reminded ofthis while watchingthe vvideo that runs with Dench’s interview ‘online, in which younger stars ask her for professional advice. Yes, she's largely discussing acting rather than anything darker, but it till confirms that with age ‘comes wisdom, ‘Age is not just a number; Dench is blunt about the physical challenges it brings. Ie’ terrible to be so dependent ‘on people,” she says of having to give up driving. But, she's strongly resistant to the expectations that come with getting ‘older: Take herattitude to retirement, for instance: "Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” show she sumsit up, quoting Dylan Thomas's poem “Do not go gentle into that good night’. Allin all, you're left thinking thae while you can’e fight ageing’s physical reality, itis possible to push back against the prejudice that accompanies it Indeed, Dench’s cover will inevitably be called age-defying, but i's more ac- curate to say it defies our expectations of what getting older involves, Both her Vogue and social media stardom prove that vitality continues far beyond youth, and that it's frankly ridiculous that society sidelines older women, given theirstyle, ‘wit and energy. Honestly, Dench has been so busy giving.all sorts of key lessons of late, Td suggest she give herself a break and retire, But,of course, shed neveragree tothat. © Guardian News & Media 2020 Find out more about Judi Denchstifeandcareer on the next pages. ‘ballon. pinsharp ote pestochenschaf efairat Sdemaleruotend © Kurzhaaschie gene = akersnilg Bint ackup = unvebhime = exe, hein Boost ge = stithen den = ahmen,wettern ‘oniraief iesence = befendeKomk = Belastbarkt Wider Fan _Sandsfrigher = herasfordernd, resistant axfmopig = Widersandlestend deer ial verassenumev = beseeschicben werden =—_—— sparkling ‘anted takes for = furelnd salend = schndssichersein oS ————— = schidssihe a in = Teewarer = wise schmuneeln Saggy Fine = Lebhatiget, Mune = dachblkenbssen ket (igiheared wisdom = unbeschwer, eter = Wesheit ‘isdievouly wt = verchite, = Schafsoige, Witz, Seheisch Versand morale ‘wrinkled + Stinmung Kamplgest_— = fag patrons = bevormunden hea lssendbehanden| 812020 Speight a