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
Feb
20
2024

At Tuesday’s Cinema for Peace Gala at the 74th Berlin Film Festival, the honorary Dove of Cinema for Peace award was given to director Guy Nattiv and Helen Mirren for their joint work in the 2023 film “Golda”, the historical biopic Nattiv directed starring Mirren as renowned Israeli prime minister Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War. It was a first for the award, given against the backdrop of rising antisemitism around the world following the Hamas attack of October 7, when terrorists killed some 1,200 people and abducted 253 to Gaza from Israel’s border communities. The award was presented to Nattiv and Mirren onstage in Berlin by 102-year-old Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlander. “Golda” also won the main prize for Cinema for Peace, which it shared with “One Life” and “The Zone Of Interest”. Pictures from the gala have been added to the photo gallery.

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Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2024 – 74th Berlin Film Festival – Cinema for Peace Gala

Jan
23
2024

It’s been a truly wild awards season for Helen Mirren with several projects for consideration that went into whole different directions. “1923” received little love for its first season, including a shutout at the Emmys (as they do with pretty much all of Taylor Sheridan’s shows) and a well-meaning though singular nomination at the Golden Globes for Helen Mirren. “Golda”, on the other hand, remained little seen and came at the possibly worst time to shine a light on Israel politics. Combined with warm but mediocre critics, the biopic went unnoticed in most countries and didn’t play a role during awards season at all. Then, throw in a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Ensemble as well as yesterday’s, ahem, Razzie nomination for Worst Actress in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and you have what you may call recognition across the boards. So today’s Oscar nomination for Golda’s Make-Up & Hairstyling team comes as a nice surprise and closure for last year’s film season. The Academy Awards are handed out March 10, 2024.

Dec
30
2023

A late Christmas surprise is coming our way from Vanity Fair Italy’s December 29 issue with Helen Mirren on the cover and an in-depth interview inside in which she dishes on the recent release of “Golda” and its time in recent history, the January release of “White Bird” (which has been pushed by its American distributor to October 2024) and enjoying the Italian life. A translated version can be found in the press archive with the cover being added to the photo gallery. Enjoy the additions and a Happy New Year to everybody.

I read many history books and it seems clear to me that horror has always been a constant in the human condition. What was Alexander the Great great for? For killing millions of innocents? And Stalin? I grew up in England with the troubles (the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, ed.) and I saw how these pseudo-racial conflicts can last indefinitely, unless truly excellent leaders are found. I believe, and perhaps I’m wrong, that if there were more women in politics things would be different. You know, seeing these summits with heads of state that are almost always all men makes me angry, frustrates and saddens me. I would like to see parties made up of half women, in every part of the world. (Helen Mirren, Vanity Fair Italy, December 29, 2023)

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Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – 2023 – Vanity Fair (Italy, December 29, 2023)

Nov
11
2023

Tuesday night, on the one-month anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on southern and central Israel that sparked the nation’s biggest conflict in 50 years, an audience gathered at the Linwood Dunn Theater of the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Studies in Hollywood for a packed industry screening of – and panel discussion following – the powerful biopic “Golda” starring Helen Mirren in the title role as former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. The eerie timeliness of the film couldn’t have been known when it was released in the United States on August 25, nor in the UK on October 6 (the day before the conflict was launched). “Golda” tells the story of how Meir, ill with malignant lymphoma, runs interference during the tense 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in ’73. Mirren, thanks to a masterful make-up job by the Bleecker Street movie’s hair, makeup and prosthetics designer Karen Hartley-Thomas, is transformed into the chain-smoking Israeli leader for the duration of the film’s 100 minutes. Mirren and Hartley-Thomas along with the Israeli-born “Golda” director Guy Nattiv all were present Tuesday for the post-screening panel talk that was made possible by the fact the film was made internationally (in London) and not under a SAG contract as the SAG-AFTRA walkout continues. A complete article on the Q&A can be read over at GoldDerby. A clip can be watched in the video archive.

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Video Archive – Public Appearances – “Golda” Screening at Academy’s Pickford Center (2023)

Oct
24
2023

Helen Mirren’s latest feature film, “Golda”, has been released on home video and on-demand in the United States last week. The drama, which focuses on Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, can be also found on streaming platforms (check availability here). While fans in Europe will have to wait a little longer – it’s currently in theaters in the United Kingdom – screencaptures from the Blu-Ray have been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to US fan Joan for sending them in.

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Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – Blu-Ray Screencaptures

Sep
29
2023

Yesteday, Helen Mirren has attended the UK premiere of “Golda” ahead of its release in cinemas. Speaking of her role, she said: “Golda Meir was a formidable, intransigent and powerful leader. It is a great challenge to portray her at the most difficult moment of her extraordinary life. I only hope I do her justice.” “Golda” was written by Nicholas Martin, who previously penned a biopic of American socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, and directed by Guy Nattiv who led Oscar-winning short film “Skin”. Nativ said: “I have long been an admirer of the great Helen Mirren. She has melted so brilliantly into Golda Meir’s character with incredible talent, intelligence, depth and emotion, doing justice to the richness and complexity of this incredible woman.” Pictures from the screening have been added to the photo gallery.

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Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2023 – “Golda” Screening (London)

Aug
28
2023

In an interview aired by Israel’s Channel 12 on Sunday, Mirren spoke about her leading role in “Golda” depicting Israel’s first and only female prime minister, Golda Meir, during the period of the fateful 1973 Yom Kippur War. The interview was recorded in July when Mirren was in Israel for the premiere of the movie at the Jerusalem Film Festival. “I believe in Israel, in the existence of Israel, and I believe Israel has to go forward into the future, for the rest of eternity,” Mirren said. “I believe in Israel because of the Holocaust.” She revealed there were those who had tried to talk her out of making the film due to Israel’s controversial position on the world stage, but, she said, “I’ve met such extraordinary people in Israel.” “I know there is a base, a foundation of deep, intelligence, thoughtfulness, commitment, poetry even in Israel that is very, very special, I think,” said Mirren. Mirren admitted that before making the film, “I didn’t know a lot about Golda” but said she clearly recalled “the feeling of triumph and satisfaction and of awe actually that a woman had been elected to lead a country. It was a very exciting moment for women in general. Understanding her physical suffering… as well as the mental suffering of dealing with this enormous burden of the war, that was a revelation for me.” The complete article accompanying the interview can be read here, while the full interview can be found in the video archive.

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Video Archive – News Segments – Channel 12 Israel (August 28, 2023)
Photo Gallery – TV & Online Appearances – Channel 12 Israel (August 28, 2023)

Aug
25
2023

One of Helen Mirren’s most anticipated dramatic roles today arrives in theaters today – although, due to the dual strike in Hollywood, it will not likely for “Golda” to make a splash at the box office. Reviews have been mixed – universally praising Mirren’s performance and criticising the film’s pace and lack of depth of Meir’s character. In one recommended review on Roger Ebert, Christy Lemire writes that “[Meir] remains frustratingly out of reach, even in her suffering. But there’s a bitter irony in the fact that she sees her doctor in secret at the morgue, and each time she walks down the hallway toward her appointment, more and more bodies are stacked up along the walls. It’s a powerful image”. Vanity Fair has also published an in-depth article on transforming Helen Mirren behind the scenes, which is worth a read. There has also been a new clip released which you can find in the video archive.

My goal was to acknowledge the trailblazer who paved the way for Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel. In the 1970s, when men were misogynists – especially those commanders – a woman came and led the country. This is unheard of. I think it’s something to remember and to celebrate. (Guy Nattiv, director of “Golda”, Vanity Fair, August 25, 2023)

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Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – Production Stills
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – On-Set Pictures
Video Archive – Career Videos – Golda – Film Clip 02

Aug
20
2023

Among the many misfortunes of the current dual strike in Hollywood is the lack of promotion for films that would need a good boost by star power. “Golda” might be a prime example among the current releases, which will probably be overlooked by many, simply because they don’t know it exists. In an effort to reach a wider audience, its distributor Bleecker Street is working with Fathom Events, a unique and prolific theatrical distributor, that has mastered the art of finding audiences for one-off cinematic events, from live broadcasts of opera, stage plays and live concert pics to anniversary rereleases of classic Hollywood films. Fathom will present a Q&A with Mirren and director Guy Nattiv in theaters across the country Aug. 23, two days before the film’s official release. (It was taped before the SAG-AFTRA strike.) Fathom has also released a (very, very brief) making of featurette on the film, giving us a glimpse of the makeup process as well as an interview with Helen. Additionally, new production stills have been added to the photo gallery.

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Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – Production Stills

Jul
30
2023

We’re less than four weeks away from the theatrical release of “Golda”. Due to the dual strike in Hollywood, it’s unclear if the film will receive a promotional tour outside of the United States – or if there will be no promotion at all. We will see. In the meantime, a great batch of new production stills and on-set pictures from the film have been added to the photo gallery. Enjoy.

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Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – Production Stills
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – On-Set Pictures