In 2011 , Dench starred in '' Jane Eyre '' , '' My Week with Marilyn '' and '' J. Edgar '' . In Cary Joji Fukunaga 's period drama '' Jane Eyre '' , based on the 1847 novel of the same name by Charlotte Brontë , she played the role of Alice Fairfax , housekeeper to Rochester , the aloof and brooding master of Thornfield Hall , where main character Jane , played by Mia Wasikowska , gets employed as a governess . Dench reportedly signed to the project after she had received a humorous personal note from Fukunaga , in which he " promised her that she 'd be the sexiest woman on set if she did the film " . Acclaimed among critics , it was a mediocre arthouse success at the box office , grossing US$ 30.5 million worldwide . In Simon Curtis ' '' My Week with Marilyn '' , which depicts the making of the 1957 film '' The Prince and the Showgirl '' starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier , Dench played actress Sybil Thorndike . The film garnered largely positive reviews , and earned Dench a Best Actress in a Supporting Role nomination at the 65th BAFTA Awards
65th BAFTA Awards
65th British Academy Film Awards
Judi Dench