Helen Mirren’s illustrious acting career spans over 50 years, during which she has garnered a devoted following. Her commitment to aging gracefully has also bolstered her fame.
Mirren began her acting career with the Royal Shakespeare Company before making her stage debut on London’s West End in 1975. However, her breakthrough role came much later, at the age of 35, when she played a gangster’s girlfriend alongside Bob Hoskins in “The Long Good Friday” (1980).
For much of her adult life, Mirren prioritized her career over finding a partner or starting a family. This changed when she met American film director Taylor Hackford, who is now her husband.
In a 2016 interview with AARP, Mirren recalled meeting Hackford at the age of 38, late by conventional standards. She described how their relationship began after he kept her waiting for an audition. They bonded over their shared working-class backgrounds and a mutual love of travel, ultimately marrying in 1997 after more than a decade together.
In 2008, a photograph of Mirren at the beach, taken by Hackford, gained widespread attention. During a romantic trip to Italy, Mirren noticed a paparazzo while Hackford took a picture of her in a red bikini. The image went viral, astonishing Mirren herself. Years later, in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, she downplayed the photo’s significance, expressing disbelief at how good she looked in it.
Despite the ongoing admiration for the photograph, Mirren, who was 63 at the time, has repeatedly said it was merely a flattering shot. Approaching 68 in 2014, she told People magazine, “The truth is I don’t really look that good, it was just a flattering picture.” She emphasized that she no longer felt comfortable in a bikini, admitting that she never felt she looked good in one, even in her younger years.
