Judy Dench and Finty Williams attend the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show.Photo:Jeff Spicer/Getty
Jeff Spicer/Getty
Acting runs inJudi Dench’s family: her daughter,Finty Williams, caught the acting bug from her mother and her late father,Michael Williams.
Finty is a huge fan of the iconicShakespeare in Lovestar. “I take huge inspiration from her,” she shared during an October 2020interview with Matthew Rolland. “Huge. Vast.” The actress called her mother “extraordinary” and noted that trying to follow exactly in her footsteps would be “a ridiculous thing to do.”
Instead, she learned to make her own way in the industry and has found a lot of success doing so, scoring various roles in films, series, plays, audiobooks and more. She’s also collaborated with her mother a few times on projects likeAngelina BallerinaandLadies in Lavender.
So who is Judi Dench’s daughter? Here’s what to know about actress Finty Williams.
She grew up in Surrey, England
Judy Dench and Finty Williams in 1972.PA Images/Getty
PA Images/Getty
Tara Cressida “Finty” Williams grew up near Shakespeare’s hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, where Dench was a part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and where Dench’s mother and Michael’s parents lived.
The family moved to Surrey, England, when Finty was 12 years old. “If she wasn’t at home, I’d be in the theater with her,” Finty recalled of her mother toTime and Leisurein 2023. “Fortunately, she was never away for hugely long periods of time. And if she was away — my dad would be there. They took it in turns.”
After they moved to Surrey, Finty’s parents were able to work in London and still get home at a reasonable hour. She described the county as a “lovely, adventurous place” tothe BBC.
Finty also toldTime and Leisurethat her mother still lived in Surrey. “I love the fact that it’s so close to London and yet it feels like you’re in the country,” she said. “It just feels like going home.”
She’s an actress
Finty Williams at the J.Sheekey 125th Anniversary Party in 2021.David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
She discovered her love of acting at a young age. “I grew up with my parents both being in the theater all the time,” she said inan IAMPRO interviewin 2023. “I spent a lot of time with them and got to know the people and the plays and the atmosphere … and the joy. And I loved it.”
Dench has said she understands that it wasn’t easy for her daughter to pursue a career in the same business as her famous parents. She described it as an “absolute nightmare” to BBC Radio 4’sDesert Island Discs.“I think that people compare and say things,” theBelfaststar said. “I don’t think it’s kind when people do that at all, I think it makes it very, very difficult, and nor do I think there’s a necessity for it.”
She and Dench have worked together several times
Finty Williams and Judi Dench at the press night after party for “Pack Of Lies” in 2018.David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
Finty and Dench also worked together on the filmsMrs. Brown(1997),Ladies in Lavender(2004) andThe Importance of Being Earnest(2002). The pair also appeared in the 2015 playThe Vote.
“Working with her is so nice because I get to see her,” Finty told theEvening Standard, noting that she didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Dench, who is always working.
She has a son
Judi Dench, Finty Williams, and Sam Williams at the Laurence Olivier Awards in 2014.David M. Benett/Getty
David M. Benett/Getty
TheGosford Parkstar is the proud mother of her sonSam Williams.
“He is just a really great human being,” she toldtheDaily Mailin 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam moved in with Dench, and they enjoyed the extra time together — and made lots of TikTok videos.
“The relationship that they have is wonderful," Finty noted. “We are like Velcro, the three of us — if you can have such a thing as three-way Velcro.”
Finty’s son often gets mistaken for one of his favorite artists,Ed Sheeran. During a 2021 interview withThis Morning, the social media star recalled Sheeran’s fans swarming around him when he attended one of the singer’s concerts. Fortunately, security stepped in. “We met [Sheeran] a few days later, and he was like, ‘Oh, I saw you, you were being crowded round, so I sent out my security to you,’ ” Sam recalled.
On June 6, 2023, Finty posted aseries of photosof her son to celebrate his 26th birthday. “HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING SAMMY!!!!” she wrote. “You are the absolute best. And I love you with all my heart and soul.”
Finty, Dench and Sam went viral on TikTok
Judi Dench and Sam Williams at the 94th Annual Academy Awards in 2022.Mike Coppola/Getty
Mike Coppola/Getty
When Sam moved in with Dench during the pandemic, he turned her into a TikTok star.
Although she described his process as “very strict” toThis Morning, their hard work did pay off: In June 2020, Samposted a videowith his mother andhis grandmother dancingtoJawsh 685’s “Laxed (Siren Beat).”
The clip, filmed in celebration of their family reuniting, garnered more than a million views on the app. “When Bojo lets you film a family TikTok,” Sam wrote, referencing the pandemic stay-at-home order from then-Prime MinisterBoris Johnson.
Sam has more than 250,000 followers on the platform and recruited his mother for anotherdance videoand acomedic videoshortly after the first success. He’s also played a few games of “Guess the Lyric” with his grandmother, and in November 2022, the trio reprised their “Laxed (Siren Beat)” dance with the BBC’sLouis Theroux.
She’s dating an actor
Finty Williams and Joseph Timms in 2020.David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
Finty met her fellow actor boyfriend, Joseph Timms, in 2010, when they both performed in Nell Leyshon’s playBedlam, according toThe Times.Their professional relationship quickly turned romantic, and the two have been together ever since.
Finty told the outlet that she “won the lottery” with Timms, who has appeared in a variety of plays and television shows, including the BBC’sAtlantis.
Over the years, she’s shared bits and pieces of their romance on Instagram. On Aug. 28, 2022, Fintyposted a photofrom a Backyard Cinema performance ofBaz Luhrmann’sRomeo and Juliet.“Perfectly perfect date night with Joseph Timms ❤️,” she wrote.
Timms appears to have a close relationship with Sam, too. “These two… oh my heart,” the actresscaptioned photosof the duo in September 2020.
She loves tattoos and convinced Dench to get one
Judi Dench and Finty Williams in 2004.Dave Benett/Getty
Dave Benett/Getty
Even though they can be tricky to deal with in her profession, Finty has 11 tattoos. “They’re really hard to cover but you’ve got to before you go on stage,” she toldTime and Leisure. “But I wouldn’t get rid of any of them. I love them.” She noted that her favorite is an acorn she has tattooed on her left wrist. “My son’s middle name is Oak,” she explained.
Finty also has some body art to honor Timms. During her interview with theEvening Standard, she revealedthat she got the word “havoc” tattooed on her wrist back when she met her boyfriend.
The actress has even shared her love oftattoos with Dench. On her mother’s 81st birthday, Finty took her to get a tattoo. “She has ‘carpe diem’ on her wrist,” Finty told theoutlet.“The tattooist asked if she was absolutely sure and she said, ‘Just do it.’ ”
In April 2020, Fintyshared a photoof her newest tattoo, a sound wave, and wrote, “I have 11 tattoos and they are all extremely special as they all mean different [things].”
She and Dench are fans ofRuPaul’s Drag Race
Finty Williams and Dame Judi Dench at the launch of the 200th Burlington Christmas in 2019.David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
When they’re not working in film and television themselves, Finty and Dench both love to watch the drag competition seriesRuPaul’s Drag Race.Finty told theEvening Standardthat she got her mother into the show, and now, Dench thinks it’s “wonderful.”
The duo even made a cameo on the season 10 finale in 2018, perBillboard.
She looks up to her mother
Finty Williams and Judi Dench in 2015.David M. Benett/Getty
Finty has a close relationship with Dench and has always admired her talent. As she forges her own path in the industry, she hopes to make her mother proud along the way. “I would love to have as much talent as she has probably in her little toe,” she told Matthew Rolland. “I have to just be satisfied and hope that what I do is okay.”
Outside of their professional lives, Finty and her mother have a special bond — in fact, Finty, Dench and Sam call one another about six times a day. “She has an amazing sense of humor,” Finty said about Dench. “She just makes us laugh all the time.”
For Dench’s 88th birthday, Fintyposted a tributealongside a photo of her mother with a lemur on her shoulder. “It’s this beauties birthday today. (Ma not the lemur),” she wrote. “Happy Birthday to my darling Mama.”
source: people.com
