![Helen Mirren wears pink cape and black gloves](https://www.closerweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/5-Things-You-Didnt-Know-About-Actress-Helen-Mirren-.jpg?crop=0px%2C53px%2C3325px%2C1886px&resize=940%2C529&quality=86&strip=all)
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5 Things You Didn’t Know About Oscar-Winning Actress Helen Mirren: From Her Passions to Pet Peeves
Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren opens up about her passions, pet peeve and having no regrets with these interesting five facts.
‘Hamlet’ Changed My Life
“As a teenager in London, Helen was inspired to become an actress after watching a local production of Hamlet. “I’m sure the production was terrible, but Shakespeare, the story of Hamlet … it was a thriller to me,” says the actress, 78. “I went back home, and we had this huge book of Shakespeare. I went through it looking for characters I responded to. That was what led me into wanting to become an actress.”
I Have a Pet Peeve
She’s been happily married to director Taylor Hackford for 25 years, but Helen admits she “didn’t like him at all when I met him.” The reason? “He was 20 minutes late and I had a meeting and I turned up on time. I don’t like being late. He’s still not on time, and it drives me crazy!”
I Love to Sew
“I’ve still got my mom’s treadle sewing machine that I make things on,” Helen says. “I learned a love of fabrics from [her]. I’m forever trying to make the perfect wrap skirt that you sort of just hook on and it falls perfectly.”
![Helen Mirren wears white sequined gown with long sleeves](https://www.closerweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/5-Things-You-Didnt-Know-About-Actress-Helen-Mirren.jpg?fit=400%2C600&quality=86&strip=all&resize=400%2C600)
Motherhood Was Not My Destiny
“I kept thinking it would be, waiting for it to happen, but it never did, and I didn’t care what people thought,” says Helen, adding, “I have never had a moment of regret about not having children.”
I Embrace Aging
“If someone said to me, ‘I’m going to wave the magic wand and you’ll be 25 again,’ I would say no I don’t want that,” Helen insists. “The reality is as you age your body changes, but you learn so much with time.”