Another category that I find difficult to limit to just five. I’m going old school here for the first group. I have two more lists of British actresses sorted by age groups. Check back next week for the next grouping.
Judi Dench
I never pictured her as “M”, but what do I know. Dame Judi Dench can play anything. Her awards include including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs), and seven Olivier Awards. Dame Judi began her career in theater, the Old Vic, the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also dabbled in television, with A Fine Romance (1981–1984, ITV) and As Time Goes By (1992–2005, BBC1). She moved into film, my favorites being A Room With a View, Shakespeare in Love, Mrs. Brown, Chocolat, Philomena, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Victoria & Abdul and a few of the Bond films.
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen shows no sign of slowing down. She began her career with the National Youth Theatre, where she played Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1965). With the Royal Shakespeare Company and made her West End stage debut in 1975.
Dame Helen’s films include gained further recognition for her roles in O Lucky Man! (1973), Caligula (1979), The Long Good Friday (1980), Excalibur (1981), The Mosquito Coast (1986), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), The Madness of King George (1994) Gosford Park (2001), The Last Station (2009), The Queen (2006), The Tempest (2010), Hitchcock (2012), Eye in the Sky (2015), and Trumbo (2015).
Her television work included portraying DCI Jane Tennison in ITV’s Prime Suspect (1991–2006), for which she earned three British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Her awards include an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards, five Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, two Cannes Film Festival Awards, a Volpi Cup and a Laurence Olivier Award.
Maggie Smith
Dame Maggie Smith first came to my attention in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) for which she won a batch of awards. For many, she will be mainly remembered for either Professor Minerva McGonagall or Violet Crawley, but her work is quite expansive. Her first stage appearance was at 17, and she went on to perform on Broadway in 1956. Dame Maggie joined England’s National Theater Company and made her first film appearance in 1956. She worked in television, film and stage in various supporting roles and co-starring roles until her opportunity to star in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She continued her work in theater but focused on Hollywood films like Murder By Death, Death in the Nile, Evil Under the Sun, California Suite, A Room With a View, Hook, Sister Act, The First Wives Club, Gosford Park, the Harry Potter Films, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and of course the television series, Downton Abbey. Her awards included two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Dame Maggie was known for her very dry remarks, biting and snarky. She passed away in 2024.
Vanessa Redgrave
A member of the Redgrave acting family. Dane Vanessa made her stage in 1958 and worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her stage work included production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Driving Miss Daisy, Richard III and My Fair Lady,
Her films included Blow-Up (1966), Isadora (1968), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), The Bostonians (1984), Howards End (1992), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Blowup (1966), Camelot (1967), The Devils (1971), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Julia (1977), Agatha (1979), Mission: Impossible (1996) and Letters to Juliet (2010). Her awards include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, Volpi Cup and an Olivier Award.
Glenda Jackson
A celebrated actress on both sides of the Atlantic. Studied. At the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and then worked on the British stage and then Broadway. She chose some unconventional films, but she quickly established herself as an amazing screen presence. Earned two Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Memorable films include: Women in Love, Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Music Lovers, Mary Queen of Scots, A Touch of Class, Hopscotch. She left acting in 1992 to serve 23 years as a Member of Parliament. She was also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for Transport. In 2015, she left politics and returned to acting, which kept her busy until her death in 2023.
Others Deserving Actresses
I could very easily have included Claire Bloom, Julie Walters, Julie Christie, Julie Andrews, Penelope Wilton or Jean Simmons in this extraordinary list.
Ticket 2 Ride 
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