The award-winning star of stage and screen is named latest Barbie UK Role Model as the brand celebrates ‘Female Storytellers’ as part of its 65th anniversary celebrations
The 78-year-old Academy Award winning actress receives the highest honour from the Barbie brand; a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll created in her likeness, in recognition of her acting career spanning decades and versatility as a storyteller breathing life into powerful and wide-ranging female stories for generations.
Dame Helen says: “I am absolutely blown away by my Barbie. To be chosen by Barbie as a Role Model is a huge compliment, and something I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams happening to me at this stage in my life. It’s a very special thing, and something I can add to my list of my favourite achievements; becoming a Dame of the British Empire, having an Oscar, having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – and having my own Barbie!”
The one-of-a-kind Helen Mirren Barbie doll re-creates the iconic blue fashion look Helen wore on the 2023 Cannes red carpet, where she debuted blue hair while wearing a cornflower blue gown by Del Core, and jewellery by Bulgari. The doll carries a blue fan – one of Helen’s trademark red carpet accessories – and a miniature Oscar statue, in recognition of Helen’s 2007 Academy Awards Best Actress win.
Of her dolls look, Helen says “The intricacy and detail of the doll is extraordinary; I love that the Barbie doll is wearing one of my favourite ever red carpet looks, and it was the first time I’d ever had blue hair, and it felt so exciting. I like to embrace theatrical fashion and the joy that having fun with fashion can bring, and I think that this joy should be age-less. And the cherry on top of the cake is my doll having a miniature Oscar. It is an absolutely perfect reproduction.”
Helen Mirren is one of the world’s best known and most respected actresses with an international career that spans stage, screen and television and has won many awards for her powerful and versatile performances, including the Academy Award in 2007 for her performance in The Queen. The only performer to have achieved both the American and the British Triple Crowns of Acting, Helen’s career began with the National Youth Theatre playing Cleopatra and has since performed on London’s West End and Broadway. Helen’s film and TV roles have included The Queen, Elizabeth I, Gosford Park, Calendar Girls, the Fast & The Furious franchise, Hitchcock, Prime Suspect, Red, 1923, and the narrator role in 2023’s record-breaking Barbie the Movie. Helen was appointed a Dame of the British Empire by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.
Helen continues “As an actor, after decades of roles; the importance of storytelling to me means telling stories about the whole of humanity, not just stories of youth or one type of story. Stories of young people are wonderful because they’re just beginning life, they have energy and I love the fact that young people are constantly challenging what has come before them. But you know there are stories to be told about the whole of humanity, and all of our journeys, at all of our different ages in life.”
Helen is patron of a number of organisations supporting women and children, and as part of Barbie’s commitment to inspiring the next generation of girls, the Barbie brand will donate funds to support two of Dame Helen Mirren’s chosen organisations, Barnardo’s and The National Youth Theatre.
Dame Helen says: “Barnardo’s does amazing work that supports young people in their travails and their journey through life. I am proud to also support the National Youth Theatre because without them, I don’t know that I would have been able to become an actress. It’s an organisation that allows young people irrespective of finances to enter into the world of theatre, of drama, of telling stories across may roles on stage and behind the scenes. And it was very important in my life so I’m thrilled that we can continue to support them.”