{"id":292788,"date":"2025-07-26T08:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T08:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/292788\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T08:09:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T08:09:14","slug":"helen-mirren-at-80-dont-ever-tell-me-to-grow-old-gracefully","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/292788\/","title":{"rendered":"Helen Mirren at 80 – ‘Don’t ever tell me to grow old gracefully!’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A national treasure, though she’d probably cringe at that description, as she turns 80 acting royalty Helen Mirren offers her forthright opinions about ageing, marriage and confidence\"HelenHelen Mirren remains unashamedly fearless in her ninth decade(Image: Chelsea Lauren\/Shutterstock for SAG Awards)<\/p>\n

Dame Helen Mirren<\/a> is as fearless, feisty and adventurous as ever. And as she celebrates her 80th birthday today, 26 July, she can certainly rest in the knowledge that she remains one of Britain\u2019s most ageless actors – one who has always pushed tirelessly against the idea of how long a woman can remain \u2018relevant\u2019 – particularly on-screen.<\/p>\n

The national treasure, who has played a whole host of iconic roles, from Detective Jane Tennison in the television series Prime Suspect<\/a> to her Oscar-winning turn as Queen Elizabeth II <\/a>in 2006 film The Queen reveals the secrets to her 40-year relationship with husband<\/a> director Taylor Hackford. She also reveals she never plans a thing when it comes to the future – and why, as she prepares to celebrate her milestone birthday, as OK! reports<\/a>, the last thing she wants to hear is that she looks \u2018good for her age\u201d or worse, that she\u2019s \u2018ageing gracefully\u2019..<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Copy Kate Garraway’s ‘gorgeous’ Boden shirt as it pairs perfectly with linen trousers<\/a>\"HelenThe actress finds ‘you look well for your age’ patronising(Image: WireImage)<\/p>\n

How is your approach to ageing gracefully helping you with turning 80?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am not ageing gracefully at all! I hate that term – it sounds like you have to be elegant and accepting, and, no, I am not. I am ageing with fun, with commitment but not gracefully. Who cares about graceful? We just do grow older, there\u2019s no way you can escape that. You have to grow up with your own body, your own face and the way it changes. It\u2019s not always easy but it is inevitable. You have to learn to accept it.<\/p>\n

How do you feel when someone says you look good for your age?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Insulted (laughs). You look good for your age is patronising. I hate that kind of comment. Be prepared, if you use that phrase, to be dissed in a major way!<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve often credited the 1950s Canadian Air Force program for keeping you looking so fit and healthy…<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s true. I have to admit, I don\u2019t do it so much now, and I should get back into it. It is a great way to get fit. <\/a>You just do what they tell you to do. You start very low and you think, \u2018Oh, this is just much too easy.\u2019 And if it is, then you start making it more difficult for yourself. Then you go, \u2018Oh my God, no, this is really difficult.\u2019 It can be quite challenging, but it works. It\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are your top tips to keep looking and feeling good?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s as important to make the inside of you, as healthy as the outside of you. I always go everywhere with my vitamins. That is probably the most important thing in my beauty bag, actually. What you eat, what you drink, what you don\u2019t smoke, really makes a massive difference to your skin, especially as you progress through life. It\u2019s incredibly important to feed the inside of your skin, as much as the outside of your skin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HelenHelen claims time apart is one of the keys to her and her husband Taylor Hackford’s marriage(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

How has your relationship with beauty and image changed over the years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The majority of us are not beautiful. There are beautiful people who walk on this planet, and we can all see them and appreciate them, but the majority of us are not beautiful like that. But, we can put on style, we can put on swagger, we can put on confidence, we can put on wit and charm, and lots of other things that are just as attractive as sheer beauty. So, I think in a way, that word – beauty – it alienates people. It did for me, for many years, I have to say.<\/p>\n

Is there anything you\u2019ve learned about beauty that you wish you\u2019d known when you were younger?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, to let go of the concept of beauty. Think of confidence. Think swagger. Enjoy beauty where you see it, absolutely, but let go of it for yourself. Don\u2019t let it influence your thinking in any way. I remember being in my thirties and being told, if I used this cream, I could look like I was a teenager again, with absolutely no marks of any living whatsoever. That annoyed me. Luckily, we have gone way beyond that.<\/p>\n

Where does your own confidence and swagger come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It took a while and I\u2019m still working on it. I was very, very insecure as a young person. My body was the wrong shape. I was very insecure around people. The most important thing is to remember that probably everybody feels the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

You play many strong, ferocious characters on-screen. Are you anything like them in real-life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m ferocious. I\u2019m a total wimp. I\u2019m not a confrontational person at all. I can be argumentative sometimes – more so when I was younger. I would defend positions that I thought were correct. I have always been a feminist, and argumentative but, I don\u2019t think I am ferocious. Maybe people would have a different idea of me, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\"HelenHelen won an Oscar for her stunning portrayal of the late Queen(Image: Unknown)<\/p>\n

How do you look back on your career up to now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, well, you know, I think I was brave. I have to say, as a young actress, I think I was courageous. I was. And keen to break down attitudes that I thought were old-fashioned, or retrograde, or just wrong, you know. So, I relished having roles. That is the great thing about drama, is that it can do that, without being lecturing because it is entertaining at the same time. It can really change people\u2019s attitudes about things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you always been at ease with being in the spotlight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, not at all. A lot of actors become actors because they are shy, in a way. They find being themselves quite difficult, so it is much easier to become someone else. I think that was the case with me, to a certain extent, certainly when I started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your next film is The Thursday Murder Club<\/a>. What can you tell us about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s based on the extremely successful Thursday books. It\u2019s with a some beloved fellow British actors and it\u2019s a very British subject. I\u2019m really excited about it.<\/p>\n

Do you still feel British – though you\u2019re a big Hollywood star, live in America and have an American husband?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do. I\u2019m very proud to be British and it\u2019s funny because even in America I seem to be surrounded by Brits. It\u2019s full of them! The world<\/a> has become so much smaller.<\/p>\n

You and your husband have been together for 40 years and married for more almost 30. What\u2019s your secret?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it helps that we\u2019re both in the same business. We understand what we each go through and the demands on your time. But the main thing is trust. As long as you trust and respect each other, and are not jealous of each other, then it works. We came into the relationship already very grown-up, so all of that crap was out of the way. And it\u2019s not such a bad thing to be separated for two or three weeks from time to time. That\u2019s fine, as long as you trust each other and really look forward to seeing each other again.<\/p>\n

Finally, what are your plans for this next chapter of your life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have no idea. You know, when I was 20, I didn\u2019t know what my twenties would be like. I didn\u2019t know what my thirties would be like… I still have no idea and that\u2019s the adventure. Life is an adventure. I don\u2019t plan anything. I don\u2019t expect anything. I will just allow life to come and hit me, the way it always has.<\/p>\n

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