Helen Mirren is an English theater and film actress, director and producer, winner of awards: Oscar, Golden Globe, British Film Academy, European Film Academy, Emmy, Actors Guild, Cannes, Venice, Moscow Film Festivals, Dame Commander of the Order of the British empire.
In the creative biography of the actress, there are about three hundred roles in television and film projects, including participation in various awards ceremonies, entertainment shows and documentaries.
Despite her age, and Helen will turn seventy-four in 2019, the actress is in great shape. She continues to delight her fans with new works.
She acts in different genres, but many film critics believe that the images of crowned persons are best for her. Soon Mirren can be seen in the films Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw, Fast and Furious 9, as well as in the TV series Catherine the Great.
Although it is difficult to find information about how much Mirren makes and her financial situation, it is safe to say that she is one of the most sought-after and highest paid actresses in Hollywood and the theater scene.
short biography
The future screen and stage star was born in the summer of 1945 in West London. Her mother came from a working-class English family, and her father, Vasily Petrovich Mironov, was a Russian civil servant from Kuryanovo, whose father was a diplomat. Helen's grandfather worked as an engineer in the military industry and emigrated to Britain immediately after the revolution. Great-great-grandfather by the name of Kamensky was a field marshal and a hero of the war with Napoleon in 1812.
Having settled in England, the father changed not only his name, but also the name of his daughter. He became known as Basil Mirren, and Elena received the name Helen. Parents dreamed that their beloved daughter would become a teacher, but the girl became interested in theater during her school years and later chose an acting profession.
Mirren attended high school for girls in St. Bernard and there she first began performing in school plays. At the age of thirteen, she saw the play "Hamlet" and was literally shocked by the drama. The family where Helen grew up never had a TV. She also did not go to the cinema, so after visiting the production, she had only one desire - to be back in this atmosphere and plunge into the fabulous world of the theater.
In her teens, the girl became interested in literature. Her favorite writers were Rimbaud and Verlaine. She dreamed of becoming an elegant Frenchwoman, brought up in a bourgeois society, or an artist and actress like Juliette Greco. At fifteen, Helen wanted to be like Brigitte Bardot and live in Saint-Tropez.
After receiving primary education, she entered the teacher training college at the insistence of her parents. But the desire to become an actress was decisive. She soon dropped out and entered drama school. At the age of eighteen, Mirren was selected for the theater troupe of the Youth Theater and began performing on stage.
Creative career
For two years, Helen received only small roles in theatrical productions. But over time, her acting talent was noticed by the director. The young actress gradually began to appear in the main cast of performances, and after a while she was already playing the main roles.
Later, Mirren began to shine on the stage, first at the Old Vic Theater in London, and then at the Royal Shakespeare Theater. She has performed many roles in classical productions such as Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Two of Verona, and Richard III.
Mirren became widely known only after appearing on the silver screen. One of the first roles she got in the famous film by Tinto Brass "Caligula", where she played Caesonia. This was the first role of the actress, where she appeared in the form of an empress. Later, she will once again demonstrate her acting skills, transforming into royal persons.
Caligula became a real sensation and caused many scandals. The picture was not censored, so it was replete with naturalistic scenes. Many considered her to be too outspoken, cruel and even sadistic. After many articles that appeared in the press, and speeches of fighters for morality, the scriptwriter of the film even demanded to remove his name from the credits. But all these scandals and controversies only added to the popularity of the picture.
The next role Hellen got in another controversial project of the famous master of film productions Peter Greenaway - "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover." She played the main character Georgina. The picture literally shocked the audience and caused a wave of controversy and indignation in the press.
Mirren played her best roles in the early 2000s. Having embodied on the screen the image of Queen Elizabeth II in the film "The Queen", she became the record holder for the number of awards received, having won forty victories. She was overtaken only by Cate Blanchett, receiving forty-one awards for her role in Woody Allen's "Jasmine".
In the creative career of the actress, there are roles in completely different genres. So in 2017, she played in the movie "Fast and Furious 8", playing the role of Magdalene Shaw. In 2020, she will reappear on the screen in the next part of the franchise.
In 2018, Mirren starred as Sarah Winchester in the mystical film Winchester. The house that the ghosts built. The film received mixed reviews, and film critics considered it one of the worst roles of the actress.
Interesting Facts
Mirren is one of nine actresses to receive an Oscar nomination for portraying a real queen. And one of seventeen, who won three prestigious Oscars, Emmy and Tony awards for the royal image at once.
Helen has always had a dream - to embody the image of Empress Catherine the Great on the screen. And such an opportunity appeared for her. In 2019, a new project "Catherine the Great" will be released, in which she will play the main role.
In 2010, the sculpture of Mirren appeared in the famous Madame Tussaud's wax museum.
In 2013, she became the owner of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and also received one of the most prestigious British theater awards Laurence Olivier.
Mirren signed a contract with Nintendo a few years ago to advertise the Wii Fit Plus training game. Representatives of the company were confident that the appearance of such a famous actress on the screen would draw attention to the simulator of older people. Helen's fee for filming was approximately $ 800 thousand.
When Mirren was seventy years old, she signed a contract with the cosmetics company L'Oreal Paris. She believes that older women should spend much more on cosmetics than younger women, but many companies do not think about it at all.
The actress owns her own property. She has homes in Los Angeles, London and southern France.
