Helen Mirren

- HMAS

Dame Helen Mirren is one of Britain's most celebrated classical actresses. She has played a wide range of Shakespearean heroines, yet first became known to international audiences for her portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, the passionate and dedicated lead character in the award winning British television series Prime Suspect.

Helen was born on July 26, 1945 in London as Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov. Her name was changed to Helen Lydia Mirren by her father, a member of an aristocratic Russian military family who happened to be stationed in England at the time of the Russian Revolution. A former violinist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, her father worked as taxi driver, freelance musician and driving instructor.

Helen claims to have known at the age of six that she not only wanted to become an actress, she wanted to become a great actress "in the old fashioned and traditional sense". After a brief attempt to accommodate her parents' wishes by attending teachers' training college, Helen quit to join the theatre.

Helen's closest family include an older sister Kate, a deceased younger brother Peter, nephew Simon, and husband Director/Producer Taylor Hackford.

Read about Helen Mirren on Wikipedia