Helen Mirren is a world-renowned international A-list actress. But Mirren’s rise to fame was not easy; the “The Long Good Friday” actress didn’t garner international success until she was 40.
Throughout her decades-long career in film and television, Mirren has received numerous accolades. According to Looper, the award-winning actress’s most significant roles include her portrayal of Ayn Rand in “The Passion of Ayn Rand,” her role of Queen Charlotte in “The Madness of King George” and Leo’s wife Sofya in “The Last Station.” Mirren achieved international fame in 2006 after portraying Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen.”
The renowned actress has earned the triple crown of acting in the United States — an Academy Award, an Emmy Award and a Tony Award. The award-winning actress is also the first person to receive the British triple crown of acting for having won three equivalent honors in the British entertainment industry — a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Award, a BAFTA Television Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.
Mirren won her Oscar and BAFTA for her performance in “The Queen,” an Emmy and BAFTA Television Award for her role as Jane Tennison in “Prime Suspect,” and a Tony and Laurence Olivier Award for her role onstage in “The Audience.”
In 2013, the actress received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring her lengthy career, but her accolades do not stop there. At 77, Mirren received the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Life Achievement Award in 2022.
Along with her widely successful career in film and television, Mirren is using her platform to redefine what it means to be beautiful as a mature woman.
Mirren graced the cover of People Magazine’s April 2022 “Beautiful Issue.” During the cover story interview, the Emmy-winning actress shared her thoughts on beauty and age.
The 77-year-old mentioned that she was “gobstruck” after receiving the honor. The actress also opened up about her viewpoints on beauty and how the beauty industry should be called another name, “swagger.”
“There are incredibly beautiful people in the world, and it’s an absolute delight to look at them, male or female. Beautiful people are a wonder to behold,” the actress told the outlet. “But most of us are not beautiful. We have other stuff, which is just as powerful as beauty. And I would like to see us celebrate those things … I love the word swagger because I think swagger means I’m confident in myself, I’m presenting myself to the world, I’m enjoying the world around me. I think what is called the beauty industry should be called the swagger industry. We’re giving people swagger.”
Although the actress is aging gracefully, Mirren admitted to AARP that she once feared aging but now sees the beauty in growing older.
“The best thing about being over 70 is being over 70,” Mirren said. “Certainly when I was 45, the idea of being 70 was like ‘Arghhh!’ but you only have two options in life: Die young or get old. There is nothing else. The idea of dying young when you’re 25 is kind of cool — a bit romantic, like James Dean. But then you realize that life is too much fun to do that.”
Another way the London native embraces life to its fullest is through her vibrant personal style.
Mirren’s bold and beautiful red carpet style is show-stopping. The award-winning actress turned heads when she attended the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in a sparkly metallic dress and bottom-length platinum blonde extensions.
Pro hairstylist and Evo’s international creative director Tom Smith took to his Instagram to praise Mirren’s style. “You won’t believe who owns this hair,” he said in a video, per Glamour. “Helen Mirren!”
Smith explained how extremely long hair had become a summer trend. He also mentioned how he liked Mirren’s spin on the style.
“I think this might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I love challenging age stereotypes and I just think that (Mirren) is so smart and so bold for doing something so current, so out there, and so unexpected.”
Smith and Mirren’s beauty team went on to match the shade of hair color with her skin and attire. “That extreme length is absolutely a trend this summer,” Smith added. “I’ve been talking a lot about Rapunzel lengths and super-bright platinum. This of course is that white gray, creamy beautiful color. Some of it’s her natural color, and yeah, there’s a lot of extensions in there, but wow, what a statement. She looks amazing.”
Although for this look, the “Eye in the Sky” actress donned platinum hair, her natural grays peeked through, making the look effortless. The actress opened up to Vogue about her decision to go gray, referring to her transition as “easy” due to her natural blond tresses. But despite her seamless transition, she encouraged other women to embrace their grays.
“Going gray is to be encouraged — that’s not to say you can’t have fun with your hair,” she added. “Because it’s a very important part of how you feel about yourself. People should do whatever makes them feel comfortable.”
Although Mirren’s edgy foray into gray locks and Rapunzel-length extensions proves she’s not afraid of taking risks when it comes to her looks, it seems she’s long been that way. In a 2014 interview with Redbook, she revealed she often eschews going to salons and cuts her own hair most of the time.
“I can’t handle going to the hairdresser every six weeks, so I only go about once a year. In between, I get out the scissors and do something, usually rather disastrously. Sometimes I’ll even chop my hair the morning of a big red-carpet event,” the stunning septuagenarian said.
A desire to DIY extends to coloring her hair too. Mirren told Vogue:
“I put low lights in it in the past — and I’d like to do it again soon. I’ve always done it myself, I never went to have my hair colored; I couldn’t be bothered, it’s so boring and expensive.”
Mirren, a highly awarded and talented actor is just like us mere mortals, it seems. Her self-professed laziness is apparently behind her decision to rock her gray hair too. “I did it because I’m lazy. Honestly, I’m so lazy about my hair!” Mirren told PEOPLE.
As for her advice for other women out there who are interested in going gray but scared of taking the plunge? Mirren shared:
“I think women were just so terrified of having white or gray hair because it immediately put them into a different category. … And of course, you are in that age group. I’m sorry, but you are! So, why not just embrace it, go a long with it and welcome it? Make it a positive thing as opposed to a negative thing.”
Ever the fashion queen, Mirren stepped out in style again for the Ora! Film festival in Monopoli, Italy, on June 3, 2023. The star donned an eye-catching hot pink maxi dress cinched at the waist. The dress was embellished with a number of large and small sequins, giving the outfit a flashy and fun yet elegant look. Mirren paired the hot number with a headpan in a matching shade of pink and silver slip-on sandals, also embellished with shiny crystals. She closed out the look with silver hoop earrings and left her naturally grey tresses flowing down.
Mirren’s choice to go loud and proud in pink alluded to her role in the highly anticipated summer blockbuster “Barbie” film, set for release on July 21, 2023. The film, directed by Greta Gerwig of “Lady Bird” and “Little Women” fame, stars Margot Robbie as the titular character, as well as Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Dua Lipa and Will Ferrell. Mirren served as the narrator of the film, which will be the first live-action film to bring the celebrated children’s Mattel dolls to the big screen.
Later at the Ora! Film festival, Mirren was seen holding up a handwritten sign that read “Save The Olives,” in support of a non-profit organization dealing with the Xylella Fastidiosa epidemic affecting olive trees in Apulia, southern Italy. Mirren reportedly owns a second home in the region and has campaigned for awareness on the issue various times previously.
“We need to help the Salento to save its ancient olive trees. They are plants which have an extraordinary value for agriculture and for the landscape. Some of them are more than 2,000 years old, and now they are dying,” she told The Telegraph in 2017.
