DAME JUDI DENCH

Age
71, born in York on 9 December 1934

Training
Attended the Central School of Speech and Drama before joining Royal Shakespeare Company

Acting debut
Played Ophelia in the Old Vic production of Hamlet in 1957

Best-known roles
Queen Elizabeth I in 1998's Shakespeare in Love, Queen Victoria in 1997's Mrs Brown and middle-aged partners in TV sitcoms A Fine Romance and As Time Goes By

On-screen persona
Strong-willed but soft-centred

Off-screen persona
National institution

Awards
Won the best supporting actress Oscar in 1999 for Shakespeare in Love, and Bafta awards in 1966 for Four in the Morning and in 2002 for Iris

Oscar nomination for
Playing widowed theatre owner Laura Henderson in wartime comedy-drama Mrs Henderson Presents

Oscar form
This is her fifth nomination, having won best supporting Oscar for Shakespeare in Love in 1999 and being shortlisted for Mrs Brown in 1997, Iris in 1998 and Chocolat in 2000

Oscar odds
20/1 at Ladbrokes, 33/1 at William Hill

Other nominations
Shortlisted for a best actress award from Bafta, but lost out at the Golden Globes and British Independent Film Awards

Reaction to Oscar nomination
"I'm so happy to be nominated for something I loved filming every single day"

Typical quote
"I think people are used to seeing me (on TV) sitting in the corner of their rooms. I don't think I'm a very frightening person. I don't think I'm a very grand person"

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY

Age
20, born in Teddington, west London, on 26 March 1985

Training
Turned down an offer to attend London Academy of Music and Drama, attending local state school

Acting debut
Playing Natasha Jordan in TV drama A Village Affair in 1994

Best-known roles
Football player Jules in 2002's Bend It Like Beckham, Elizabeth Swann in 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean, Lara Antipova in 2002 TV mini-series Doctor Zhivago

On-screen persona
Deceptively tough waif

Off-screen persona
Fashion-conscious party girl

Awards
Named British newcomer of 2003 by London Critics Circle for Bend It Like Beckham, and took the British Independent Film Awards entertainment personality prize in 2005

Oscar nomination for
Playing heroine Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's version of Jane Austen's classic romance Pride and Prejudice

Oscar form
This is her first nomination

Oscar odds
33/1 at Ladbrokes, 25/1 at William Hill

Other nominations
Nominated for a Broadcast Film Critics Association best actress award, and was shortlisted for a Golden Globe but failed to win

Reaction to Oscar nomination
"I'm very happy everyone liked it as much as they did. I was terrified of taking on such a well-known character - to the point where I didn't want to do it. But my agent persuaded me and I'm very glad she did"

Typical quote
Discussing actor father Will Knightley, she said: "As a child I fell in love with the whole environment of acting and wanted to be a part of it. I think that's very boring of me, because I never really rebelled"