Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren has more than forty years of career, where almost a hundred titles have accumulated. To complete her resume, it is essential to know that the queen of celluloid, she was also queen of the tables. In her own words, “I began to become obsessed with Shakespeare at the age of 13”, which led her to ignore her parental advice that encouraged her to become a teacher.

Mirren’s grandfather was a Russian aristocrat who was in London when the 1917 revolution began. The only way out for him and his family was to stay in the United Kingdom, where on July 26, 1945, his granddaughter, Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov, would be born. Despite her name, the aristocrat’s granddaughter did not even speak Russian. His life unfolded in England, where he studied at St. Bernard’s School (Essex). The school years gave way to the study of dramatic art, and to the entrance, at the age of 20, in the prestigious classical theater company Royal Shakespeare Company. This is how she began her life as an actress, in a medium that has brought her recognition such as two Tony Award nominations, for ‘A Month in the Country’ (1995) and ‘Dance of the Death’ (2002).

Mirren made her film debut as a secondary in the drama Herostratus (1967). She had her first leading role, opposite James Mason , in Age of Consent (1969), where she began to develop characters endowed with great sensuality and erotic charge. These types of women are common to titles such as Miss Julie (1972), A lucky man (1973) or Hussy (1980), although it was in Caligula (1979) where she reached her maximum exponent. She thus created an image of a femme fatale closely linked to sex. She alleges that she never understood that image of herself: “I appreciate the attractiveness, the sensuality – Marilyn Monroe type– and I know I’m not like that. That’s why I don’t see that image that has been linked to me for so long.” She doesn’t feel like a feminist either, although she acknowledges that looking back she sees a modern attitude for the time.

The titles followed one another, until in 1984 he collected the first fruit of his work. Cal brought her the best actress award at Cannes. Her role as her widow who falls in love with an IRA member opened the doors of Hollywood for her. Her premiere was with the 2010 science fiction film Odyssey Two (1984). From then on, she alternated her work in the United States with those carried out in her homeland –more numerous–, in the same way that she alternated leading and secondary roles. Precisely as a secondary she worked on Sunny Nights (1985), a drama directed by Taylor Hackford ( Ray ), her boyfriend until 1997, the year they got married.

The high point in television came with Detective Jane Tennison in the miniseries Prime Suspect (1991), where Mirren solved murder cases. The success was such that six more installments have been made (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003 and 2007), which has brought the actress three Bafta awards – the English Oscars – in the television category. Her definitive accolade in cinema came with The Madness of King George (1994). Her role as Queen Charlotte earned her her first Oscar nomination as a supporting actress, as well as the award for Best Female Performance at Cannes. So much recognition did not influence her work rate, which she continued to be constant. She alternated film titles such as In the name of the son(1996), with work on television, where he achieved success again with Losing Chase (1996). With this family drama, directed by Kevin Bacon , she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress.

If the drama has characterized his career, lighter titles such as In Critical Condition (1997), by Sidney Lumet , Kidnapping Miss Tingle (1999), Flower Power (Like a watering can) (2000), or The Calendar Girls (2003 ), qualify a trajectory that would not be understood from the pigeonhole. It is true that it had to be another drama, Gosford Park (2001) by Robert Altman, which led to her second Oscar nomination, as a supporting actress. Her prestige was beyond doubt, and the Queen of England herself was in charge of demonstrating it, who in 2003 named her Lady of the British Empire. Her career had been linked to the monarchy thanks to titles such as Hamlet (1976) and The True Story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1994), in which she was Queen Gertrud; in addition to the animated films The Snow Queen (1995) and The Prince of Egypt (1998), where she lent her voice to both queens. However, one could not imagine that this institution would give her one of the sweetest moments of her career. The role of Elizabeth I in the television miniseries Elizabeth I(2005) and Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), have brought her two Golden Globes for best actress. The film directed by Stephen Frears also helped her win the Volpi Cup in Venice and the English Bafta, as well as her first Oscar for best actress.

The queen thus approaches her desire for youth. When she began her career as an actress, it was immediately clear to her: “she didn’t want to be good at what she did. She wanted to be brilliant”.