With more than 50 years of experience as an actor, Helen Mirren has gained a huge following. Her decision to age naturally has made her even more well-known.
Mirren’s first job in show business was as an actor in the theater. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and made her debut on London’s West End in 1975.
But the now-78-year-old actress didn’t become famous until much later in life. She was 35 years old when she got her big break as a gangster’s girlfriend in “The Long Good Friday” (1980), starring Bob Hoskins.
Mirren had been focused on her work for most of her adult life, so she wasn’t thinking about finding a partner or having kids. Until she met Taylor Hackford, an American film director who is now her husband.
“I was 38 years old when I met Taylor, which is pretty late in life,” she told AARP in 2016, remembering how the director had kept her waiting for a tryout when they first met. They got to know each other better after she got the part, and their relationship grew from there.
In the end, Mirren and Hackford became close because they both came from working-class backgrounds. Mirren’s mother was a working-class woman whose family had a long history of butchers, and Hackford’s father was a Russian nobleman who fled to the UK during the Russian Revolution and became a cab driver to support his family.
The future spouses also became close because they both loved traveling and seemed to share the same view on stories since they both worked in the entertainment business.
Hackford’s two children from previous marriages were happy for Mirren to get married to their father, but that didn’t make her change her mind about having children of her own. She did say, though, that she thought Hackford’s desire to be the best mom to his kids was very admirable.
It wasn’t until 1997 that they got married because they were sure they would be together forever. They had been together for more than ten years at that point.
The famous nude picture
When 2008 came around, a picture of Mirren at the beach taken by her husband went viral… Something that shocked fans and even the famous star herself!
The married couple was on a romantic beach vacation in Italy when they hiked to a remote beach area to enjoy the stunning views without anyone else being there.
She told them about the time she took a picture of her husband and he did the same for her. But Mirren said that as soon as she sucked in her stomach while standing, she saw a flash off in the distance and knelt down on the rocks to hide from what looked like a paparazzi.
Her husband said his wife was being “paranoid” when he turned around and saw the paparazzi. But sure enough, the picture of Mirren in a red bikini was published by a newspaper and quickly became famous all over the world.
That picture was just a coincidence, the actress told Ellen DeGeneres a few years later on her talk show: “I look at that picture and say, god, I wish I looked like that.” I don’t, though.”
People are still amazed by the picture of Mirren, who was 63 years old at the time it was taken. Many people on the internet say they don’t look half as good as she does, even though they are decades younger!
Just before her 68th birthday in 2014, the Oscar winner talked about the picture in People. She said, “The truth is I don’t really look that good, it was just a flattering picture.”
She also said, “I’m really past the bikini age.” In general, I wouldn’t wear one. I seem to be a woman in her 60s. Even when I was young, I always felt bad in a bikini.
What do you think of Helen Mirren’s beautiful bikini picture? Post your answer below!
You will definitely be interested in reading about how Julie Andrews made a rare public showing at age 87 if you liked this one.
