Helen Mirren admits she once hated her body but we say the acting icon has been sexy since the sixties
The Queen actress says she was never bothered by nude scenes but was not a fan of her figure as it was nothing like the famous sex symbols of the time
WITH her blonde bombshell looks and enviably curvy figure, Dame Helen Mirren was a knockout in the 1960s.
Yet the British acting legend has revealed this week that she hated how she looked back then - as her famous curves were at odds with the stick thin ideal of the decade.
The Queen star, now 72, said: “It was the time of Twiggy, and I did not look like a twig. My cheeks were too fat, legs were too short, breasts too big...
“I fell into the cliché of sexiness: blonde hair, t*ts, waist, which I hated at the time because it was not fashionable.”
But we think Dame Helen stood out for all the right reasons - and has continued to do so over her 50 year career.
Decade by decade, the versatile star kept finding new ways to make sure she always stayed in style.
Here we look back at her crowning moments.
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60s – Queen of curves
The young Helen might not have liked how she looked but plenty of other people did - in fact, the young star’s curvaceous figure was deemed too hot to handle by film producers.
Some nude scenes from her 1969 film Age of Consent - which saw her strip off and pose naked in the sea for a painter - were cut before being released in the UK and the US, for fear of causing too much, ahem, excitement.
The screen legend explained: “I was doing nude scenes from the moment I first started doing movies. I never wanted to show much boobs, but I thought, ‘Does it really matter?’ It seemed to be nothing to get your knickers in a twist over.”
We couldn’t agree more.
70s - Queen of nude scenes
Helen didn’t so much dare to bare as grab the opportunity with both hands - literally.
Throughout the 70s she made the most of what god gave her by stripping off for a string of saucy roles, in films including Savage Messiah, Caligula and Oh Lucky Man!
Unlike some actresses, Helen didn’t rely on a body double for her nude scenes- as she clearly had the confidence to bare all.
This picture of the rising starlet in a clingy metallic dress, showing off her considerable assets, shows exactly why - and sets the gold standard for years to come.
80s – Queen of attitude
Helen could rival a chameleon with her different looks in the 80s, from an evil-sorceress in 1981 film Excalibur to a cheating wife in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover in 1989.
No wonder she caught the eye of director Taylor Hackford on the set of 1985 movie White Nights, in which she played a complicated ballerina.
The couple fell in love and later wed in 1997 - they are still married today.
The costumes from the 80s films have not aged as well as her relationship, unfortunately. But her badass fearless attitude, which shone out of every shot, is timeless - even when she had to wear this dodgy headpiece in Excalibur.
90s – Queen of style
This was the decade in which Dame Helen cemented her status as acting royalty - with three BAFTAs and two Emmy awards for her portrayal of no-nonsense DCI Jane Tennison in long-running crime drama Prime Suspect, which first hit screens in 1991.
She also got nominated for an Oscar for 1994 film The Madness of King George.
And while the actress’ star was on the rise, so was her style. Renowned British photographer Terry O’Neill added her to the list of style icons he’s captured on film when he snapped the actress in the mid-90s.
00s - Queen of the bikini body
When she stepped out in a figure hugging bikini at the grand old age of 62, Dame Helen probably didn’t realise she’d make millions of people around the world gawp with wonder.
With a smoking hot body to match her red swimsuit, Dame Helen caused shockwaves thanks to her enviably flat stomach and gravity defying curves.
Despite being the age that many women - wrongly - think they have to resign themselves to a tasteful one-piece, the star gave hope to sixty-something everywhere with her confident stance and give-a-damn attitude.
She kept it real when she later admitted: “I think the thing that will haunt me for the rest of my life is that bloody photograph of myself in a bikini.
“In and of itself, it is a lie because I don’t actually look like that and I know that that is going to haunt me forever and I’ll be forever trying to bury it unsuccessfully.”
10s – Not just a Queen - an icon
These days Helen is a Dame but she might as well be royalty - having won an Oscar for her leading role in 2007 movie The Queen and an Olivier award for her role as the monarch in 2013 play The Audience.
In 2014 she picked up the Icon Award at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in 2014 and also became the newest face of beauty brand L’Oreal at the age of 69.
Now in her 70s, this Dame is still game - with her potty mouth, love of pink hair dye and straight-talking values.