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.”

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.”