Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren Facts
| Sign | Leo |
| Born |
Jul 26, 1945 London, England |
| Age | 81 |
| Total Facts | 37 |
John Boorman said he cast her opposite Nicol Williamson in Excalibur (1981), against both of their protests, because he felt their dislike of each other made them perfect as rivals Morgana and Merlin.
According to an article in People Weekly (November 3, 1980) her tattoo is an American Indian symbol meaning "equal but opposite".
According to the April 2007 issue of Architectural Digest, She and her husband have sold their estate in New Orleans, which still remains her favorite American city.
At the premiere of The Queen (2006) at the Venice Film Festival, her performance received a 5 minute standing ovation.
Became an Associate Member of RADA.
Became the third person, after Sigourney Weaver and Joan Plowright, to win two Golden Globes for acting in the same year. The characters she played were both Queens of England, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II.
Before marrying director Taylor Hackford in 1997, she had lived with him in Los Angeles since 1986.
Daughter of Vasily Mironoff and Kathleen Rogers.
Despite her Russian birth name and ancestry, she does not speak Russian, but is fluent in French.
Has a tattoo of a star on her left hand, acquired at a Native American reservation in Minnesota.
Her grandfather Piotr Vasilievich Mironoff was a Tsarist (White Russian) aristocrat who was in London negotiating an arms deal during World War I when the 1917 Russian Revolution stranded him there. His wife and son (Helen's father) joined him in London.
Her great-great-great-great-grandfather was field-marshal Kamensky, one of the Russian heroes of the Napoleonic wars.
Is one of eight actresses to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award. The others in chronological order are Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich (2000), Renée Zellweger for Cold Mountain (2003), Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005), Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006), Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008), Mo'Nique for Precious (2009), and Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010).
Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 2004.
Met husband-to-be Taylor Hackford when he directed her in White Nights (1985). When the couple married in the Scottish Highlands, Hackford was dressed in a traditional Scottish tartan kilt.
Nominated for Best Actress, Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for her performance in "Mourning Becomes Electra" at the Royal National Theatre: Lyttelton Stage. [2004]
Nominated for Best Actress, Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for her performance of "Orpheus Descending" at the Donmar Warehouse. [2001]
Nominated for Best Actress, Tony Award for "A Month in the Country" by Ivan Turgenev. [1995]
Nominated for Best Actress, Tony Award for "Dance of Death" by August Strindberg. [2002]
Nominated for the 2002 Tony Award (New York City) for Actress in a Drama for "Dance of Death".
Placed her hand and footprint in cement in front of Graumann Chinese theatre on March 28, 2011.
Played a Queen a total of six times: The Queen (2006), "Elizabeth I" (2005), The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Snow Queen (1995), The Madness of King George (1994), and Caligula (1979).
Plays Prospero (now Prospera) in The Tempest (2010/II), and Hobson in Arthur (2011). Both roles were originally written for a man, and had in fact previously been played by John Gielgud. Both films also cast her opposite Russell Brand.
She allegedly refused the C.B.E. (Commander of Order of the British Empire) in 1996.
She and her husband Taylor Hackford are both Oscar-winners.
She dedicated her BAFTA win for The Queen (2006) (for Best Actress in a Leading Role) to Ian Richardson for playing a huge part in her success story. She said (in her acceptance speech) that Richardson was very supportive towards her when she started out acting, and without him she may not have been so successful. She dedicated this award two days after Richardson died. [2007]
She is the only actress to play both Queen Elizabeth I (in "Elizabeth I" (2005)) and Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen (2006)).
She owns houses in Los Angeles, London, and the south of France.
She was awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.
She won an Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), making her the most recent of 12 actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2007).
Sister of Peter Basil Mironoff and Katherine Mironoff.
Stepmother of Rio Hackford and Alexander Hackford.
Used to work in Southend on Sea; Essex; UK at an amusement park "The Kursaal" as a "blagger" to attract customers on to rides.
Was in consideration for the part of Sarah/Anna in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) but Meryl Streep, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
Was voted 2nd in Entertainment Weekly's Entertainers of the Year in December 2006.
Won 29 major awards for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), including all the awards that are considered the biggest (except Cannes). She was also nominated for 3 more awards for the same film.
Won Film Achievement, Greatest Britons. [2007]