Dame Judi Dench has revealed her first ever tattoo, at the age of 81.
The actress, who turned 81 in December, was gifted the tattoo as a birthday present by her daughter Finty. Dame Judi opted for the phrase ‘carpe diem’ (meaning ‘seize the day’ in Latin) in capital letters on her wrist.
In an interview with Surrey Life magazine, Dame Judi said: “That’s my motto: Seize the day. Finty gave it to me for my 81st birthday – she’s wonderful with surprises.
“Good, isn’t it? Mind you the company of A Winter’s Tale, which I was doing at the time, used to say that it said fish of the day.”
Dame Judi has been contemplating getting a tattoo for a while. She previously told Good Housekeeping: “There’s an Indian symbol that I like which supposedly represents life and love and everything.
“One of the cameramen who worked on The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel told me what it meant, but I’m a bit nervous in case I’m being set up – It might be unbelievably rude.”
She also joked to The Hollywood Reporter in 2014 that she had a tattoo of movie producer Harvey Weinstein on her bottom! She said: “I once said to him, ‘I have your named tattooed on my bum.’ He laughed and was, well, quite embarrassed, actually. It’s quite difficult to embarrass Harvey, but I did!”
Proving to be a joker, Dame Judi took things one step further during lunch and even mooned the producer! “Beforehand, I got my makeup lady to actually write Harvey’s name [on my body]. Then I brought it up at lunch and said, ‘You know, I do have it on my bum’ – and then I actually got up and showed him! I’ve never seen a man more embarrassed and I’ve never let him forget it, ” she revealed.
It’s great that the actress has taken inspiration from her tattoo and seized the day to get inked. It just goes to prove that you’re never too old for some body art!
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