Mirren, Helen (1945– )

English actor. One of the most acclaimed actors of her generation, she has played both modern and classical stage roles. Her Shakespearean roles include Lady Macbeth, Isabella in Measure for Measure, and Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1964, 1983, and 1998). She received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), and was nominated for Academy Awards for her performances in both The Madness of King George (1994) and Gosford Park (2001). She was also acclaimed for her role as Jane Tennison in the television series Prime Suspect (1990–97 and 2003).

Her other films include The Long Good Friday (1981), Cal (1984), The Comfort of Strangers (1990), Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991), The Hawk (1993), Some Mother's Son (1996), Last Orders (2001), Calendar Girls (2003), The Clearing (2004), and Raising Helen (2004). In later theatre work she was acclaimed for her performances in August Strindberg's Dödsdansen/Dance of Death (2002) and Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra (2003).

In 2007 she published the memoir In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures. She was made a DBE (Dame of the British Empire) in 2003.