--- title: Judi Dench Got Tattoo for Her 81st Birthday description: The revered actress has revealed her first tattoo, which is the Latin phrase "carpe diem" inked on the inside of her wrist. canonical: https://time.com/4389528/judi-dench-tattoo-birthday/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-30T15:10:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:33:56.545Z og:title: Dame Judi Dench Got Her First Tattoo for Her 81st Birthday og:description: The actress proved she's the hippest dame around with her fresh new ink og:url: https://time.com/4389528/judi-dench-tattoo-birthday/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6802459ab6f1a468/69889a30e20a87d7bca91715/dame-judi-dench-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4252 og:image:height: 2392 og:image:alt: Duke Of Edinburgh Award Gala Evening og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dame Judi Dench Got Her First Tattoo for Her 81st Birthday twitter:description: The actress proved she's the hippest dame around with her fresh new ink twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6802459ab6f1a468/69889a30e20a87d7bca91715/dame-judi-dench-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Judi Dench Proves She's the Hippest Dame Around with New Tattoo > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=82b8d95c-b7f6-4c83-a34d-ae2024e3ffd7&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 30, 2016 3:10 PM UTC  BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND - JUNE 9: The Earl of Wessex (left) talks with Dame Judi Dench attend a Gala Evening marking the 60th anniversary of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award at Stoke Park on June 9, 2016 in Buckinghamshire, England. The Duke of Edinburgh will be joined by 007 stars including Sir Roger Moore, Dame Judi Dench and Naomie Harris for a James Bond-themed charity gala. The "Diamonds Are Forever" fundraising event will mark the 60th anniversary of The Duke of Edinburgh's (DofE) Awards. Hosted by David Walliams, it will be attended by past and present cast and crew from the spy film series, including producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND - JUNE 9: The Earl of Wessex (left) talks with Dame Judi Dench attend a Gala Evening marking the 60th anniversary of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award at Stoke Park on June 9, 2016 in Buckinghamshire, England. The Duke of Edinburgh will be joined by 007 stars including Sir Roger Moore, Dame Judi Dench and Naomie Harris for a James Bond-themed charity gala. The "Diamonds Are Forever" fundraising event will mark the 60th anniversary of The Duke of Edinburgh's (DofE) Awards. Hosted by David Walliams, it will be attended by past and present cast and crew from the spy film series, including producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) WPA Pool—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 30, 2016 3:10 PM UTC Tattoos: everybody’s getting them, even revered British actress Judi Dench. For her 81st birthday, the Dame got the Latin phrase “carpe diem” inked on the inside of her right wrist, she told British magazine [_Surrey Life_.](http://www.surreylife.co.uk/home/surrey%5Flife%5Fmagazine%5Finterviews%5Fdame%5Fjudi%5Fdench%5Fat%5Fbritish%5Fwildlife%5Fcentre%5F1%5F4487014) “That’s my motto: seize the day,” she told the magazine, as reported by the [_Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/30/dame-judi-dench-gets-carpe-diem-tattoo-for-her-81st-birthday/). The tattoo was a gift from her daughter, Flinty Williams, who is also an actress. Williams has reportedly [been “keen”](http://www.today.com/popculture/judi-dench-gets-first-ever-tattoo-age-81-see-what-t100410) on getting her mom into the ink game, and Dench has joked about different tattoo designs over the years. She even hoodwinked legendary Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein into believing she had inked [“JD loves HW”](http://time.com/3673460/harvey-weinstein-judi-dench-tattoo/?iid=sr-link1) on her posterior, although that turned out be a [prank](http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/01/oscar-winner-harvey-weinstein-tattoo). But the seasoned thespian, who’s made her mark as everyone from a steely Queen Elizabeth to James Bond’s beloved M, has only recently seized the chance to get well and truly tattooed — this time in real, permanent ink. For all those looking for subtle tattoo placement, you might want to take a page out of Dench’s book: although she’s had the tattoo for months, she’s been able to keep the body art as something of a secret from the press, as the script is easily hidden with a few bracelets or strategic hand positioning. Long live Dame Judi Dench, and may she continue to seize the day — and surprise us. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4389528/judi-dench-tattoo-birthday/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4389528/judi-dench-tattoo-birthday/"},"headline":"Judi Dench Proves She's the Hippest Dame Around with New Tattoo","datePublished":"2016-06-30T15:10:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:33:56.545Z","description":"Seize the day, no matter your age","url":"https://time.com/4389528/judi-dench-tattoo-birthday/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6802459ab6f1a468/69889a30e20a87d7bca91715/dame-judi-dench-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6802459ab6f1a468/69889a30e20a87d7bca91715/dame-judi-dench-tattoo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Duke Of Edinburgh Award Gala Evening","caption":"Duke Of Edinburgh Award Gala Evening","creditText":"WPA Pool—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4389528/judi-dench-tattoo-birthday/","name":"Judi Dench Proves She's the Hippest Dame Around with New Tattoo"}}]}] ```