Welcome to The Helen Mirren Archives, your premiere web resource on the British actress. Best known for her performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, "Prime Suspect" and her Oscar-winning role in "The Queen", Helen Mirren is one of the world's most eminent actors today. This unofficial fansite provides you with all latest news, photos and videos on her past and present projects.  Enjoy your stay.
Celebrating
10 years
on the web
May
23
2017


Helen Mirren brought a touch of gold to the 2017 Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY) Gala. The actress hosted the event alongside fellow actress Kelli O’Hara at NYU Skirball Center on Monday in New York City. The gala was held to honor film director Jeffrey Blitz and football coach Joe Moglia. SAY is a national non-profit organization, “which through summer camp, speech therapy, and creative expression empowers, educates, and supports young people who stutter and the world that surrounds them.” Pictures from the event can be found in the photo gallery.

May
21
2017

Dame Helen Mirren cheered the Tulane University Class of 2017 with a speech that was funny, sometimes bawdy and always heartfelt Saturday (May 20) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. She told Tulane graduates she knew they would fix the world – and to help with that, she doled out advice, one-liners, a dig at LSU and a drink order: “vodka martini straight up with a bit of lime. The bit of lime is because, you know, I’m a bit of a health fanatic,” she said. She received an honorary degree from the university, as did saxophonist Branford Marsalis, research psychologist Shelley Taylor and civil rights leader Diane Nash. Graduation speeches are supposed to be relatable, she said. So “today’s speech will contain advice for any of you born in England, who decided to become Shakespearian actresses and end up doing nude scenes in 10 films.” She added, “I just mentioned that just to see if any of your fathers are getting out their phones right now to Google me. Dads, stop it. Inappropriate. Put it away.” A pause: “I mean the phone.” In fact, her speech contained ample guidance for a far wider audience, which lapped it up. You can read the whole speech over at the university’s official website, pictures can be found in the photo gallery and the speech is also in the video archive.


May
13
2017

On Friday, Helen Mirren donned academic cap and gown for the traditional ‘hooding’ ceremony in Los Angeles, which funnyman Will Ferrell co-hosted with a comical commencement speech. Ferrell , who graduated from USC in 1990 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Information, poked fun at the Oscar winner, joking he still loses out on roles to the British actress. “The most painful one was losing the role of Queen Elizabeth in The Queen,” he quipped. “Apparently, it came down to myself and Helen Mirren. The rest is history.” Ferrell also serenaded Mirren, university staff and the graduating students with his rendition of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You. Pictures from the commencement ceremonies have been added to the photo gallery.


Apr
28
2017

A first look image of Helen Mirren as eccentric firearms heiress, Sarah Winchester has emerged online, with Mirren looking eerily scary in her Victorian costume reminiscent of the Queens grandmother, Queen Mary. Winchester tells the story of the eccentric firearm heiress, Sarah Winchester who believed she was being haunted by the souls of people killed by the Winchester repeating rifle. After the sudden deaths of her husband and child, she threw herself into the 24/7 construction of an enormous mansion designed to keep the evil spirits at bay. A sceptical San Francisco psychiatrist soon learns her obsession may not be insane. In an interview with People Magazine Mirren divulged she didn’t actually believe in ghosts; “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I do believe people can be haunted, and Sarah Winchester is a haunted person. That was the appeal in the role.” The film which is currently in production and directed by Daybreakers Michael and Peter Spierig will be shot at the actual Winchester mansion in San Jose, California. The Spierigs say Winchester tells a different sort of ghost story. Michael Spierig says the heiress, who died in 1922, “was an intelligent woman and a little misunderstood,” while Peter Spierig went on to say in the same interview: “Sarah Winchester is quite a remarkable woman, and the idea of her being just a crazy person who was haunted by ghosts is not the full story. Helen Mirren, in particular, I think is great in portraying that … It’s about a woman who is deeply troubled by the violence of the rifle and what she inherited. She’s trying to come to terms with that.”

Mar
28
2017

A nice batch of additional pictures from the 80s and 90s have been added to the photo gallery – ranging from the 1987 Evening Standard British Film Awards to the 1994 Primetime Emmy Awards to the 1997 Golden Globes Awards, and pretty much in between. To view all last added pictures, have a look at the previews below.


Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1999 – 51st Annual Emmy Awards – Arrivals
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1998 – ELLE Style Awards
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1997 – 49th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards – Arrivals
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1997 – Cannes Film Festival – Opening Night
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1997 – 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards – Press Room
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1995 – “Absolutely Fabulous” Screening
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1994 – Ivor Novello Awards
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1994 – 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards – Press Room
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 1987 – Evening Standard British Film Awards

Mar
14
2017

Today, “Collateral Beauty” has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the United States. You can buy it or stream it on Amazon, iTunes and Netflix (and probably all other streaming services that I don’t know about). I didn’t expect too much from the film after the bad reviews and a shared Razzie nomination for “The Entire Cast of Once Respected Actors”. Unfortunately, the movie is really not that good – somewhere deep down lies a good idea, but it didn’t get through. Of the actors, Kate Winslet and Naomie Harris came off best, so there’s something positive at least. Screencaptures from the Blu-Ray and from the accompanied featurette that can be found on the disc have have been added to the photo gallery.



Feb
23
2017

First I forgot to add Helen’s public appearances from last week to the photo gallery – and then I forgot to update them here. So, better late than never, Helen has been out and about a lot this last week with appearances at the 16th Annual Movies For Grownups Awards honoring fellow co-star Morgan Freeman, MusiCares Person of the Year Honoring Tom Petty and the Hollywood premiere for “The Great Wall”. Enjoy the new pictures.



Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2017 – “The Great Wall” Hollywood Premiere
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2017 – MusiCares Person of the Year Honoring Tom Petty
Photo Gallery – Appearances – 2017 – 16th Annual Movies For Grownups Awards

Feb
05
2017

On Saturday, Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford attended the 69th Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards. Helen took the stage to present one of the awards of the night in the television category to “Game of Thrones”‘ director Miguel Sapochnik. Pictures from the red carpet, show and press room have been added to the photo gallery.


Feb
05
2017

Lots of additional pictures from January’s Women’s March in New York have been added to the photo gallery, alongside new pictures from the January 31 screening by the Cinema Society of Taylor Hackford’s new film “The Comedian”, starring Robert De Niro. Click any of the previews below to watch the new pictures.


Jan
22
2017


Helen Mirren took part in New York’s Women’s March on Saturday at an impromptu rally outside One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in the Big Apple. Mirren stood at the event’s wooden podium as she held the mic in her hand to deliver an awe-inspiring address. Briefly speaking to the crowd infront of her, she declared: ‘I came on the subway, and I just followed the crowd because I knew you knew where you were all going. It was amazing just to be on the subway was a great experience, all I want to say is today I am a New Yorker.” Admiring the huge turnout for the march, she took to her social media to document the historic day, captioning one of her snaps out on the streets amongst her fellow females: ‘This is amazing!’ Joining her at the march was actresses Cynthia Nixon, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez and Taylor Schilling. New York’s march was one of 600 protests held all over the globe in solidarity with women in America, who are worried that Trump’s inauguration threatens issues such as abortion, diversity and climate change. The marches around the world attracted numerous celebrities including Scarlett Johansson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emma Watson, Ashley Judd, Cher, America Ferrera, Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Yoko Ono and Amy Schumer. Some 2.2 million people are believed to have marched to promote women’s and human rights.