Judi Dench Husband: Who Was Michael Williams? Their Nearly 30-Year Marriage, Daughter Finty and Her Life Today

Judi Dench recalled a touching tradition from her marriage to Michael Williams during her November 6, 2026, appearance on The Graham Norton Show: her husband sent her a rose every Friday. Promoting her new memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?, the actress spoke about a relationship that lasted nearly 30 years before Williams died in 2001.

Williams was Dench’s husband and an accomplished actor in his own right. They married in February 1971 and had one daughter, Finty Williams, who also became an actress. Their partnership included a shared family life and memorable performances together on stage and television.

Dench later found companionship with conservationist David Mills, with whom she has been in a relationship since 2010. Mills is her partner, rather than a second husband. No verified remarriage was identified in the current reporting reviewed for this article.

Her latest recollections are part of a memoir developed with longtime collaborator Brendan O’Hea. The book looks beyond her celebrated screen roles to the friendships, family relationships and personal experiences that have shaped her life.

Who was Judi Dench’s husband, Michael Williams?

Michael Leonard Williams was born on July 9, 1935, and built a career encompassing classical theatre, comedy, television and film. His professional achievements were not limited to appearing alongside his wife, although their work together became particularly familiar to British audiences.

The couple shared a connection to the Royal Shakespeare Company and the wider theatre world. Their careers brought them into the same artistic community before their marriage, and they continued performing together during the decades that followed.

One of their best-known collaborations was A Fine Romance, the television comedy in which they played Laura and Mike. The series allowed viewers to see their comic timing together, although the characters’ fictional relationship was separate from the real marriage behind the performances.

Williams also appeared in films including Henry V and Tea with Mussolini. His stage work included Shakespeare and other major playwrights, giving him a substantial independent career alongside the projects he shared with Dench.

When he died on January 11, 2001, at 65, obituaries recognized him as a distinguished stage and television performer as well as Dench’s husband. His death followed a battle with lung cancer.

When did they marry, and who is their daughter Finty Williams?

Dench and Williams married on February 5, 1971, at St Mary’s Church in Hampstead, London. Their marriage continued until his death in January 2001. Describing it as nearly 30 years is more precise than suggesting that they reached a 30th anniversary together.

Their daughter, Tara Cressida Frances Williams, was born in 1972 and is professionally known as Finty Williams. She followed both parents into acting, developing her own work in theatre, film and voice performance.

Dench’s grandson, Sammy, is Finty’s son. Family members have remained an important part of her public recollections, including her recent reflections on what she would do if she could spend another day with Michael.

During the Graham Norton interview, Dench described the weekly flowers as a consistent gesture throughout their marriage. The significance of the story lay in its regularity: it was a small expression of affection repeated across many years, rather than only a gift for anniversaries or special occasions.

She has also spoken about how difficult it was to write about his death. Her current memoir revisits that loss while placing it within a much broader account of her life. The memories continue to matter even as her professional career and family life have moved through many later chapters.

Is Judi Dench married to David Mills now?

Dench is in a long-term relationship with David Mills, a wildlife conservationist, but he is not publicly identified as her husband. Their relationship began in 2010, years after Williams’s death. Published interviews describe a companionship connected in part to a shared interest in animals and the natural world.

Mills’s wildlife centre provided the setting for their connection. Dench was invited to open a red squirrel enclosure, and their friendship developed into a relationship. She has often preferred informal descriptions of him, including calling him her “chap.”

Her relationship with Mills has not replaced the importance of her marriage to Williams in her recollections. The two relationships belong to different periods of her life, and Dench has spoken about finding companionship again without suggesting that she stopped grieving her husband.

That distinction remains essential when answering the keyword “Judi Dench husband.” Michael Williams was her husband from 1971 until his death in 2001; David Mills is her later partner. Her November 2026 memoir promotion brings fresh recollections of Michael, while her current relationship continues to be described as a partnership rather than a marriage.