Judi Dench Shakespeare in Love 1999

“Filumena Marturano” is a 1946 Italian play, but more people are familiar with its movie adaptation, “Marriage: Italian Style,” starring Marcello Mastroianni and Oscar winner Sophia Loren.

In 1998 Judi played the title role at the Piccadilly Theatre in London. Dench plays a former prostitute who tricks her long-time lover into marrying her. She pulls off the ruse by pretending to be ill and claiming she is nearing the end of her life. So the two get married on her deathbed. Shortly afterward, she proceeds to make a miraculous recovery. Filumena explains why she tricked him into marriage. She wants him to give legitimacy to her three foster-care-raised boys who don’t know their mother.

Domenico refuses to tolerate any of this and requests that his attorney, Nocella, declare the marriage void. Filumena accepts the loss of her ploy when the lawyer tells her that he would win the case easily. However, she tells Domenico that one of the three young men is truly his child and then walks away. After trying unsuccessfully to identify which of the three young men is his son, Domenico remarries Filumena ten months later, acknowledging all three as his sons.

Judi Dench With Michael Pennington In Filumena 1998

To read more about other Oscar-winning actresses playing characters working in the sex trade industry, please continue perusing Oscar Hookers