Sad news today, apart from the Academy Awards nominations. Alan Rickman has died in London after losing a cancer battle at the age of 69. The British actor, known for his role as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films, died surrounded by friends and relatives. A statement from his family read: “The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends.” Rickman played iconic roles in films including Die Hard, Robin Hood and Love Actually. The star was a long-standing member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has won a number of awards including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 1998, Rickman and Helen Mirren performed Antony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre. Helen’s upcoming film “Eye in the Sky”, out on March 11, now has the sad distinction of being Alan Rickman’s last project. Entertainment Tonight has released a statement by Helen Mirren on Alan Rickman’s passing:

Alan was a towering person, physically, mentally and as an artist. He was utterly distinctive, with a voice that could suggest honey or a hidden stiletto blade, and the profile of a Roman Emperor. He was also a great friend, generous and social. He will be very missed by many. (Helen Mirren)

The National Film Academy has today announced the nominations for the 2nd annual National Film Awards 2016, and Helen Mirren has been named their recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Rise of the Footsoldier II, Spectre, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Kingsman (The Secret Service), North v South, Macbeth, A Royal Night Out, Absolutely Anything go head to head to claim the Best British Film 2016. Helen has received a second nomination for Global Contribution to Motion Picture, alongside Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and basically every other big name working in Hollywood. Voting officially commences today (15/01/16 until the 25th of March 2016) with winners of each category announced at the star-studded National Film Awards 2016 awards ceremony taking place on the 31st of March 2016 and televised for broadcast on Sky Showcase.

The photo gallery has been updated once again with pictures from the arrivals, show, after-party as well as screencaptures from the broadcast. Also, video clips of the Best Supporting Actress segment and Helen and Gerard Butler’s presentation of the Foreign Language film category have been uploaded to the video archive, alongside three clips of NBC’s arrivals specials from 2016 to 2013.

Video Archive – Award Shows – 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2016)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards Interview (2016)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards Interview (2015)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards Interview (2013)

The Golden Globes are handed out as we speak. The Best Supporting Actress award went to Kate Winslet for her performance in “Steve Jobs”. A first batch of pictures have been added to the photo gallery with more to come. Lots of additional pictures from the arrivals, show and after-party have been added.

Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2016 – Golden Globe Awards – Arrivals
Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2016 – Golden Globe Awards – Show
Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2016 – Golden Globe Awards – After-Party

Happy New Year everybody! Hope you have enjoyed the Holidays. It’s January and Hollywood is getting ready for awards season. The first stop this year was yesterday’s Palms Springs International Film Festival. Helen Mirren was on hand to introduce “Trumbo” co-star Bryan Cranston, who has received the festival’s spotlight award. Pictures have been added to the photo gallery.

Lots of additional promotional stills from Helen’s productions in the theatre, on film and television have been added to the photo gallery, covering pretty much her complete 50 years of professional acting, from 1965’s Antony and Cleopatra to 2015’s Woman in Gold. To launch all last added pictures, click any of the previews below.

Photo Gallery – Career – Feature Films – Last updated albums
Photo Gallery – Career – Television – Last updated albums
Photo Gallery – Career – Theatre Productions – Last updated albums

Welcome to the new version of the Helen Mirren Archives. Hope you like it. All content is still up and the subpages will be converted as we speak. The photo gallery and video archive have matching looks and are ready to be added with more great finds. As the year is coming to an end I won’t be updating as much (except some production stills which will be added later), so we can start fresh in January when Helen will be part of the 2016 awards season with much buzz for her supporting role in “Trumbo”. Enjoy browsing around. P.S. Many thanks to Luciana from whom I’ve snatched the nice affiliates coding in the sidebar, couldn’t resist, thanks a lot!

Congratulations to Helen Mirren for receiving a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Critics Choice Movie Awards for “Trumbo”. She shares the category with Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Rooney Mara (Carol), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) and Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs). This is Helen’s third major nomination for “Trumbo” after receiving nods from both the Hollywood Foreign Press’ Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild. The Critics Choice Movie Awards will be handed out on January 17.

Helen’s performane in “Trumbo” is steaming on and seems to become a serious player in the 2016 awards race for Best Supporting Actress. Both the San Francisco Film Critics and the San Diego Film Critics Society have nominated her portrayal as Hedda Hopper, the former includes Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy), Mya Taylor (Tangerine) and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina and The Danish Girl), the latter Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sila Maria), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) and Vikander for The Danish Girl. With the recent nods at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild, odds are on for an Oscar nomination as well. Fingers crossed.

Here comes an early Christmas present for you. The photo gallery has been completed with magazine scans additions, ranging from 1970 to 2015. There are lots of great finds from the early days and the breakthrough years with “Prime Suspect”. I’m sure there are many fans out there who have collected articles on Helen, so if you’d like to share your collection with the Helen Mirren Archives, please drop me a line. To launch all new additions, click any of the previews below.