Boasting remarkable versatility and palpable sensuality, this British actress has turned into the thinking man's sex symbol. In the '60s, she started out in the theater. After joining the National Youth Theatre, she played the Egyptian Queen in Shakespeare's
Antony and Cleopatra, a role she would embody two more times during her career. She made her film debut playing a rambunctious teenager in 1969's The Age of Consent, and then worked consistently in her homeland. At the outset of her film career, she took somewhat racy parts in offbeat projects such s
Savage Messiah (1972), the sexually charged
Caligula (1980) and
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989). In the '80s, her eye-catching performances also helped make her a household name stateside. She impressed audiences as a gangster's girlfriend in
The Long Good Friday (1980) and as the deliciously evil Morgana in
Excalibur (1981) opposite her then-boyfriend Liam Neeson. In 1984, she tapped into her Russian heritage as a ballet star behind the Iron Curtain in
White Nights and ended up dancing away with the director, Taylor Hackford, who became her husband. In the '90s, she became more widely known to American audiences when she snagged her seminal role as Detective Inspector Jane Tennison in the first of seven installments of the
Prime Suspect TV franchise. Intelligent, intense, sexy and flawed, the character allowed Mirren to go from domineering to devastated, and netted her three consecutive BAFTA awards, plus an Emmy. On the silver screen, Mirren continued to be praised for performances in more mainstream fare, and she scored Oscar nominations for her roles in
The Madness of King George (1994) and
Gosford Park (2001). On the small screen, she earned more venerability with her acclaimed Emmy-winning portrayal of Ayn Rand in the made-for-TV movie
The Passion of Ayn Rand. In the '00s, she continued to work consistently in television, stage and film on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2003, she returned to her risqué routes with the big-screen comedy
Calendar Girls, which featured the 58-year-old actress in some provocative poses. Next, Hollywood enthusiastically embraced her regal portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I in the acclaimed television miniseries
Elizabeth I and then Queen Elizabeth II in the feature film
The Queen. Her uncanny channeling of Elizabeth II earned her a long overdue accolade: an Oscar for Best Actress. After her banner year, she let loose and took supporting roles in the action adventure flick
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), the family-friendly Inkheart (2009) and the political thriller State of Play (2009). In 2009, she also added to her resume even more award nominations (including an Oscar and Golden Globe nod) for her well-lauded depiction of Leo Tolstoy's wife in
The Last Station. When not working, she spends time with her husband and stepchildren, and she also campaigns with human rights organizations.
Helen Mirren Fast Facts:
- Frustrated with her career in her twenties, she visited a hand reader who said the height of her success wouldn't happen for another 20 years. He was right.
- Called her Prime Suspect role "the biggest break of my career."
- Made her directorial debut by helming the "Happy Birthday" segment of the 2001 TV-movie On the Edge.
- In the 2002 TV-movie Door to Door, she played William H. Macy's mother even though he's only five years her junior.
- Named Dame of the British Empire in 2003.
- Nominated for three 2007 Golden Globes for her performances in Elizabeth I, The Queen and Prime Suspect: The Final Act. She won statuettes for the first two, portraying Queen Elizabeth I and II, respectively.
- Played a brothel madam in Love Ranch, a film directed by husband Taylor Hackford.
- Has served as an ambassador for the human rights organization Oxfam.
- Helen Mirren Relationships:
- Peter Mirren - Brother
- Basil Mirren - Father
- Katherine Mirren - Sister
- Liam Neeson - Ex-significant Other
- Alexander Hackford - Stepson
- Rio Hackford - Stepson
- Taylor Hackford - Husband
- Helen Mirren Awards:
- 2006 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Winner
- 1994 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Nominee
- 2001 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Nominee
- 2003 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 1999 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Winner
- 2003 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Winner
- 1994 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special - Nominee
- 1996 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress for a Miniseries or a Special - Winner
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - Winner
- 2004 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2002 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Nominee
- 1997 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Winner
- 2000 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 2003 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 2004 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Winner
- 1995 Tony: Actress (Play) - Nominee
- 2002 Tony: Actress (Play) - Nominee
- 1993 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special - Nominee
- 2007 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Winner
- 1997 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special - Nominee
- 2010 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 2009 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2006 BAFTA Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role - Winner
- 2001 BAFTA Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Nominee
- 1995 BAFTA Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1984 BAFTA Awards: Best Actress - Nominee
- 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Winner
- 2003 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Nominee
- 2002 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Nominee
- 2001 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - Winner
- 2001 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Winner
- 1999 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Nominee