Line #38 Creator/HelenMirren


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/helenmirren.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Actors are rogues and vagabonds. Or they ought to be."''
4
5	[[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Dame]] Helen Lydia Mirren, DBE (born Helen Lydia Mironoff on 26 July 1945 in London) is an English actress of Russian descent.
6
7	Mirren favors characters that are bold and ballsy, much like her own personality, in ways that some compare to Creator/KateWinslet. This has historically included her not being shy to [[MsFanservice shuck her clothes]] (also like Winslet); in 2010's ''Film/LoveRanch'', she became the first major actor to appear nude on film in six different decades[[note]]She also did a nude-in-the-bathtub photo shoot in ''New Yorker'' magazine alongside the film, at age ''65''[[/note]].
8
9	Mirren is the only actress in history to have portrayed both Queens Elizabeth (UsefulNotes/ElizabethI in the miniseries ''Elizabeth I'', UsefulNotes/ElizabethII in ''Film/TheQueen'' and in the play ''The Audience''). She won an MediaNotes/{{Emmy\|Award}} for the former and an [[MediaNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] and a Tony Award for the latter. On the subject of awards, she is also the only performer in history to achieve both the American and British "Triple Crown of Acting"[[note]]the American variant consists of winning a competitive acting [[MediaNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]], Emmy and Tony; the British variant consists of a [[MediaNotes/{{BAFTA}} British Acting Film Award and Television Award]] alongside a MediaNotes/LaurenceOlivierAward[[/note]].
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11	Mirren is one of the grandes dames of the English stage, alongside Creator/JudiDench, Creator/MaggieSmith, and Creator/EmmaThompson. Like many of her British cohorts, Mirren put in a stint at the Creator/RoyalShakespeareCompany.
12
13	She is of Russian descent; her grandfather was a Tsarist aristocrat who was stranded in London after the Bolshevik Revolution. Her birth name is Helen Lydia Mironoff, which her father anglicised to Mirren in the 1950s. While she does not speak Russian, she is fluent in French. Creator/TaniaMallet, who played Tilly Masterson in ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', was her cousin.
14
15	Mirren has been married to American director Taylor Hackford since 1997. She is also noted for her exquisite taste in clothes, especially come awards season.
16	----
17	!!Helen Mirren's more important roles include:
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19	* ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' (1968) as Hermia
20	* ''Film/AgeOfConsent'' (1969) as Cora Ryan
21	* ''Film/{{Savage Messiah\|1972}}'' (1972) as Gosh Boyle
22	* ''Film/OLuckyMan'' (1973) as Patricia / casting call receptionist
23	* ''Series/PlayForToday'' (1979, 1982) as Angela, Celia
24	* ''Film/{{Caligula}}'' (1979) as Caesonia
25	* ''Film/TheFiendishPlotOfDrFuManchu'' (1980) as Alice Rage
26	* ''Film/TheLongGoodFriday'' (1980) as Victoria
27	* ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' (1981) as Morgana le Fay
28	* ''Film/TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact'' (1984) as Tanya Kirbuk
29	* ''Film/WhiteNights'' (1985) as Galina Ivanova
30	* ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone\|1985}}'' (1985) as Maddie Duncan
31	* ''Film/TheMosquitoCoast'' (1986) as Margot "Mother" Fox
32	* ''Series/FaerieTaleTheatre'' (1987) as Princess Emilia
33	* ''Film/TheCookTheThiefHisWifeAndHerLover'' (1989) as Georgina Spica
34	* ''Series/PrimeSuspect'' (1991-93, 1995-96, 2003, 2006) as DCI Jane Tennison
35	* ''Literature/WhereAngelsFearToTread'' (1991) as Lilia Herriton
36	* ''Film/TheMadnessOfKingGeorge'' (1994) as Queen Charlotte
37	* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Snow Queen\|1995}}'' (1995) as Snow Queen (voice)
38	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' (1998) as Queen Tuya (voice)
39	* ''Film/TeachingMrsTingle'' (1999) as Mrs. Eve Tingle
40	* ''Film/{{Greenfingers}}'' (2000) as Georgina Woodhouse
41	* ''Literature/ThePledge'' (2001) as Doctor
42	* ''Film/LastOrders'' (2001) as Amy Dodds
43	* ''Film/GosfordPark'' (2001) as Mrs. Wilson
44	* ''Film/CalendarGirls'' (2003) as Chris Harper
45	* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' (2004) as Babette the Caller (voice)
46	* ''Film/RaisingHelen'' (2004) as Dominique
47	* ''Series/ThirdWatch'' (2005) as Annie Foster
48	* ''[[Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' (2005) as Deep Thought (voice)
49	* ''Film/{{Shadowboxer}}'' (2005) as Rose
50	* ''Series/{{Elizabeth I\|2005}}'' (2005) as UsefulNotes/ElizabethI
51	* ''Film/TheQueen'' (2006) as UsefulNotes/ElizabethII
52	* ''Film/NationalTreasure2BookOfSecrets'' (2007) as Emily Appleton
53	* ''[[Literature/TheInkworldTrilogy Inkheart]]'' (2008) as Elinor Loredan
54	* ''Film/StateOfPlay'' (2009) as Cameron Lynne
55	* ''Film/TheDebt'' (2010) as Rachel Singer
56	* ''[[Film/TheTempest2010 The Tempest]]'' (2010) as Prospera
57	* ''[[Literature/BrightonRock Brighton Rock]]'' (2010) as Ida
58	* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheGuardiansTheOwlsOfGaHoole'' (2010) as Nyra (voice)
59	* ''Film/{{Red\|2010}}'' (2010) as Victoria Winslow
60	* ''Film/{{Arthur\|2011}}'' (2011) as Lillian Hobson
61	* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' (2012) as Becky's Inner Voice (voice)
62	* ''Film/{{Hitchcock}}'' (2012) as Alma Reville
63	* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' (2013) as Dean Abigail Hardscrabble (voice)
64	* ''Theatre/TheAudience'' (2013) as Elizabeth II
65	* ''Film/WomanInGold'' (2015) as Maria Altmann
66	* ''Film/EyeInTheSky'' (2015) as Colonel Katherine Powell
67	* ''Film/{{Trumbo}}'' (2015) as Hedda Hopper
68	* ''Film/CollateralBeauty'' (2016) as Brigitte
69	* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' as Magdalene "Queenie" Shaw
70	** ''Film/TheFateOfTheFurious'' (2017)
71	** ''Film/HobbsAndShaw'' (2019)
72	** ''Film/{{F9}}'' (2021)
73	** ''Film/FastX'' (2023)
74	* ''Film/{{Winchester}}'' (2018) as Sarah Winchester
75	* ''Film/TheNutcrackerAndTheFourRealms'' (2018) as Mother Ginger
76	* ''Film/{{Anna}}'' (2019) as Olga
77	* ''Series/CatherineTheGreat'' (2019) as UsefulNotes/CatherineTheGreat
78	* ''[[Literature/TheOneAndOnlyIvan The One and Only Ivan]]'' (2020) as Snickers (voice)
79	* ''Series/WhenNatureCalls'' (2021) as Narrator (voice)
80	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Human Resources\|2022}}'' (2022-present) as Rita St. Withers (voice)
81	** ''WesternAnimation/BigMouth'' (2022-present)
82	* ''Series/NineteenTwentyThree'' (2022-present) as Cara Dutton
83	* ''Film/ShazamFuryOfTheGods'' (2023) as Hespera
84	* ''Film/{{Barbie\|2023}}'' (2023) as the Narrator
85	* ''Film/{{Golda}}'' (2023) as Golda Meir
86
87	!!Tropes associated with Helen Mirren:
88	* AbilityOverAppearance: Three times a character has been changed from a man to a woman so that Helen could star - ''Film/EyeInTheSky'', ''Film/TheTempest2010'' and the 2011 remake of ''Arthur''.
89	* AscendedFangirl: Famously got her recurring role as Magdalene Shaw in the ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' series as a result of being a huge fan of the movies, and [[https://people.com/movies/helen-mirren-begged-vin-diesel-to-be-part-of-fast-and-furious/ literally begging Vin Diesel]] to be cast.
90	* AwesomeDearBoy:[[invoked]]
91	** She loved playing a machine-gun-wielding ActionGirl in ''Film/Red2010'' so much that she agreed to appear in any potential sequel immediately. There was a sequel, and she did star in it.
92	** Said that she'd love to do a film in ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' because it looks like so much fun. She got her wish and started playing a recurring role in ''Fast 8''.
93	* BeautyInversion: She is dressed down considerably as the housekeeper Mrs Wilson ''Film/GosfordPark''.
94	* BestKnownForTheFanservice:[[invoked]]
95	** ''Age of Consent'' is known for her appearing topless as Norman Lindsey's model.
96	** ''Caligula'' likewise is remembered for her nudity. There's more than just hers, but she is the most famous of the actors who appear nude.
97	** ''Calendar Girls'' too, although nudity is a huge plot point.
98	* CelebrityVoiceActor: {{Invoked}} in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'', ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity''. She was also nearly in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994''.
99	* DawsonCasting:[[invoked]]
100	** In her debut film ''Age of Consent'' she plays a teenager at the age of twenty-two.
101	** At 73 she played Catherine the Great, from age 44 to her death at 67.
102	* FakeAmerican:[[invoked]] Played with in ''{{Film/Shadowboxer}}''. She has an American accent, but Rose says "when I came to this country" - which suggests she is an English woman who has lost her accent over the years.
103	* GenderFlip: In ''Film/{{Arthur 1981}}'' (2011) and ''[[Film/TheTempest2010 The Tempest]]'' (2010). Remarkably and coincidentally both roles were previously played by the same man, John Gielgud. Also remarkably and coincidentally, both films costar Creator/RussellBrand.
104	* HistoricalBeautyUpgrade: Catherine the Great was rather obese in her later life, but Helen Mirren remains perfectly slim throughout the miniseries.
105	* MsFanservice: Starting with her first film, ''Age of Consent'', in which she's naked a whole bunch. Continued to be this trope in many more films. She once said she's "[[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/helen-mirren-talks-nudity-and-her-career/ known for getting my kit off.]]"
106	* NonSingingVoice:[[invoked]] Her singing is dubbed in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTNYlCnGF8c On the other hand]]...
107	* PoorMansSubstitute:[[invoked]] It's something of a RunningGag to get Helen to fill in for UsefulNotes/ElizabethII when she's not around. She did a parody of the Queen's Christmas Day speech on Graham Norton.
108	* RealitySubtext:[[invoked]]
109	** Her crying during ''Film/CalendarGirls''' funeral scenes came from the fact that she found out her brother had died of cancer.
110	** She was cast opposite Nicol Williamson in ''{{Film/Excalibur}}'' because John Boorman knew they didn't like each other and thought their natural animosity would be perfect. Through working on the film they became good friends.
111	* StarMakingRole:[[invoked]] She was already a respected stage actor but ''Excalibur'' proved to be this for her film career.
112	* WagTheDirector: Her role in ''Film/TheLongGoodFriday'' was initially a very thin and generic love interest role, and she credits co-star Creator/BobHoskins backing her up in her efforts to beef the part up in giving her the courage to stick with it and make sure they made it in.

Context Creator / HelenMirren