Dame Helen Mirren’s impressive career spans over 50 years. The British actress has maintained her status as one of Hollywood’s top stars thanks to her exceptional talent, outspoken interviews, and chic sense of style. Back in 1967, the young actor joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in different plays like Antony and Cleopatra and Hamlet. Of course, the A-lister has become one of the film industry’s biggest names, winning numerous awards, including an Academy Award, several Emmy Awards, and BAFTA Awards. Did we mention that, at 74 years old, she took to the catwalk (barefoot!) at the 2019 Paris Fashion Week? When she debuted in the late ’60s, Mirren also became a fashion inspiration with her red carpet dresses, statement accessories, and trendy shoes. Take a look at photos of the ultra-stylish Helen Mirren in fashionable getups.
Vintage Photos Of The Ultra-Stylish Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren In Agamemnon (1978)
The star was barely recognizable with her eye-catching accessories, curly hair, and dramatic makeup when she starred as Cassandra in Agamemnon. Talking to The Guardian, she said, “On the cinema screen, your face is 10ft high and 6ft wide. It’s huge. And I, as a cinemagoer, like to see beautiful faces up there — it’s a pleasure. But there’s also story and entertainment, and one wants variety in that. You also want, as an audience member, to see people that you recognize and can identify with.”
Helen Mirren In Agamemnon (1978)
Helen Mirren At Kings Cross Hotel (1968)
At Kings Cross Hotel, Mirren looked groovy sporting a printed frock and a pair of lace-up gladiator sandals. A classic updo completed her ensemble with. “The more those roles change for women in life, the more people get used to that image — seeing an older woman’s face. They become more familiar with it. It’s not uncharted territory, visually, so it’s not such a shock to the system any more,” The star shared with The Guardian.
Helen Mirren At Kings Cross Hotel (1968)
Helen Mirren For Age Of Consent (1969)
The actress looked chic at the reception of a press junket for the film Age of Consent. She paired a white button-down shirt with wide-leg pants. “I’m always very insecure and nervous before I do any job. It would be so nice not to have to be nervous any more, not to have to be afraid. But the other thing you learn is that your fear and nervousness and insecurity is your own business, nobody else’s. Not because you want to be secretive about it, but because it’s impolite and self-centered to put it on other people. You should deal with it yourself. There’s a degree of arrogance: ‘I’m so nervous everyone, look at me!’” the star explained to The Guardian.
Helen Mirren For Age Of Consent (1969)
Helen Mirren With Eric Porter (1969)
Donning a simple black sweater, the star posed with Eric Porter, her Royal Shakespeare colleague, outside Heathrow Airport. Mirren told The Guardian, “The longer your life, the more you have to remember, and I do have amazing memories. I feel particularly grateful that I’m in a happy marriage. I love my husband, I love being with him. He’s a nightmare, but he’s great, and I look forward to seeing him and miss him when he’s not there. Not that I can’t live without him, because I can. But that is a really nice part of my life, when I look back and think of what we’ve done together. Family in general, I think. It’s not any of my doing really, and the fact that I’m very close to my family is great.”
Helen Mirren With Eric Porter (1969)
Helen Mirren At Heathrow Airport (1969)
Mirren wore a black sweater and pants combo at Heathrow airport. She completed her outfit with round sunnies. The star truly looks elegant. She explained to Glamour, “Patting yourself on the back is not very productive. I’m proud of certain projects — they’re all my babies in one way or another — but I don’t dwell on my past achievements. I dwell on future achievements. I made some bold and quite brave moves at various times in my life. But I don’t regret any of it. I always try to make the tapestry of my work as broad as possible. To me, the most successful way to conduct my professional life is to constantly search out new and different things to do.”
Helen Mirren At Heathrow Airport (1969)
Helen Mirren At The Dorchester (1969)
At the Dorchester hotel, the actress posed in a white button-down shirt, tweed skirt, fringed shawl, and statement necklace. “I’ve always had a very heightened sense of fairness. And as I grew to adulthood, I realized how appallingly unfair the world was for women. Every way you turned, the odds were stacked against you. That struck me as ridiculously out-of-date. I want roles that reflect women well as a sex, that don’t demean or undercut them,” Mirren shared with Glamour.
Helen Mirren At The Dorchester (1969)
Helen Mirren In The ‘70s (1975)
Mirren stunned with this plunging black dress, red lipstick and large curls back in the ’70s. The star told Elle, “Women don’t get asked to be in war movies very much, let alone play the lead in a way. So those two things. I think the war movie genre is a very important genre in film. Film gives you a visceral experience of something that you would never otherwise experience. To give the audience a real feeling of what maybe a certain kind of warfare would be like I thought [my film Eye In The Sky] was great. It was a great script.”
Helen Mirren In The ‘70s (1975)
Helen Mirren Showing Her Quirky Style (1978)
The star is also known for her quirky sense of style. Here, she sports a black coat, matching gloves, red lipstick and a pink bow tie. “Incidentally I don’t think women are any better at [handling pressure] or, more importantly, any worse at it than men are. Human beings make mistakes, so we all make mistakes and wrong decisions. Being able to make a decision and act upon it is not gender specific,” Mirren shared with Elle.
Helen Mirren Showing Her Quirky Style (1978)
Helen Mirren In A Photo Shoot (1975)
For a photo shoot, the actress sported a black lace-up tee, skirt, and a pair of platform heels. This was taken at her Fulham home. “Film is a wonderful thing and it can be so many different things. I don’t want to turn my back on any of the different ways movies can be. I love the movies. I love going to the films. I like very serious films, I love foreign films, and I love big, fun movies — as long as they’re well made and they’ve got good scripts. That’s the most important thing,” the star told Elle.
Helen Mirren In A Photo Shoot (1975)
Helen Mirren Showing Her Whimsical And Edgy Side (1976)
In 1976, Mirren looked whimsical and edgy donning a white blouse, floral skirt combo paired with striped socks. She told Glamour, “[The beauty advice I would give 20 and 30-somethings is] forget the word beauty, and find another word that applies to you. My word is swagger. It’s not your beauty; it’s your swagger — unless, of course, you’re very beautiful, in which case you’re fine. I would say, as a 20-year-old, find your category. Remember that there is not one single person on this planet like you. You are an absolute individual. Find pride and solace in that.”
Helen Mirren Showing Her Whimsical And Edgy Side (1976)
Helen Mirren In The Duchess Of Malfi (1980)
Mirren wowed while she was in costume for John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. She was part of the Adrian Nobles’ production of the play. “[Celebrities] get a lot of help in many different directions. You see beautiful photographs of us in a magazine, but there’s amazing lighting, an incredible photographer, an incredible hair and makeup team, a clothes team. There’s a lot of work going into making that image. However, having said that, I still think that image is important for people to see. Life as an influential person is not over at 40,” the actress told Glamour.
Helen Mirren In The Duchess Of Malfi (1980)
Helen Mirren In A ‘90s Photoshoot (1995)
During a photo shoot in the ’90s, Mirren kept it playful wearing a regal costume. “I think people are getting much more open [about certain aspects of getting older]. Menopause, for example, we didn’t talk about, like, 30 years ago. It’s very interesting. As women gain control and take positions of importance in the world, the issues related specifically to us come more into the open, and I think that’s fantastic,” the star shared with Glamour.
Helen Mirren In A ‘90s Photoshoot (1995)
Helen Mirren Outside The Duchess Theatre (1984)
Outside the Duchess Theatre in London, the actress posed with Robert Allen Ackerman, the director of the play Extremities. This was taken during a photo call. The play is an off-Broadway production which opened on December 22, 1982. Mirren starred in the London production, but the lead role was originated by Susan Sarandon. Later, Farrah Fawcett took over the role and her performance was critically acclaimed. She also starred in the film adaptation.
Helen Mirren Outside The Duchess Theatre (1984)
Helen Mirren With A Casual Look (1977)
If you need proof that the star can rock any look, here she is with a casual style. Wearing a button-down shirt, overalls, and a newsboy cap, Mirren still looks chic. She looks really comfortable with drink in hand and positioned comfortably in an arm chair. What’s more, she has a huge smile on her face. She has said before, “The trick in life is learning how to deal with it.”
Helen Mirren With A Casual Look (1977)
Helen Mirren As A Boho Babe (1980)
Sporting a printed shirt and a statement necklace, the actress posed with Paul Jones, who she worked with in a 1979 production and interpretation of the William Shakespeare play Measure for Measure. Jones played Claudio, who is arrested for getting his fiancé pregnant before marriage. He is sentenced to death but Mirren’s character Isabella, who is soon taking her vows as a nun and the sister of Claudio’s fiancé, pleads for leniency on his behalf.
Helen Mirren As A Boho Babe (1980)
Helen Mirren Mixes And Matches (1981)
The star mixed and matched, and wore this floral top and printed bandana. “I’m a get a dress at the thrift shop but open a bottle of champagne kind of person,” Mirren has been quoted to have said. It seems that the actress likes to mix and match, not really caring if the combination works. It seems like as long as it feels right to her, then it is fine with her.
Helen Mirren Mixes And Matches (1981)
Helen Mirren Looking Elegant (1982)
The actress truly looked elegant wearing a black hat and coordinating dress, and accessorizing with a pearl necklace. The star says, “It has nothing to do with clothing or makeup. Just put your shoulders back and chin up, and face the world with pride.” If Helen Mirren says this, then who are we to question it. People should take notes from her when it comes to being confident and showing it.
Helen Mirren Looking Elegant (1982)
Helen Mirren In The ‘80s (1985)
Mirren embodied ’80s style while out in New York City. Her look was complete with big hair, a lace dress, and a metallic gold belt. During this decade, style, colors, and silhouettes were quite bold. No one tried to straighten their curls because it was fashionable to have big hair. Belts were also a thing in the ‘80s and everyone wore them on top of practically everything, including dresses, blazers, and t-shirts.
Helen Mirren In The ‘80s (1985)
Helen Mirren Looking Glam (1986)
With her layered pearl necklaces, the star looked glam at the American Jewish Committee’s Corwin Awards in 1986. She went with Taylor Hackford, her husband. They tied the knot in 1997. He is an American film director. His projects include classics like An Officer and a Gentleman and Ray. The couple met on the set of the 1985 film White Nights. The movie is about a Russian ballet dancer who is forced to go back to Russia and stay with an American man that is married to a Russian.
Helen Mirren Looking Glam (1986)
Helen Mirren At A Premiere (1989)
Mirren was stunning at the premiere the 1989 British film When the Whales Came. She sported this bright orange dress. The movie is based on the Michael Morpurgo book “Why The Whales Came” and also stars Paul Scofield. He played an outcast old man who tries to lift the curse of a British isle with the help of children. They work together to save a stranded whale. The story is set in 1914.
Helen Mirren At A Premiere (1989)
Helen Mirren At The BAFTA Awards (1983)
The actress went matchy-matchy at the BAFTA Awards. She wore a white dress, blazer, and hat. She has been nominated five times. She won Best Actress for her performance in the 2006 film The Queen. She has also been awarded the BAFTA Fellowship, a lifetime achievement award and the highest honor that the Academy can bestow. Alfred Hitchcock was the award’s inaugural recipient. Fellowship recipients have mostly been film directors.
Helen Mirren At The BAFTA Awards (1983)
Helen Mirren At The Annual Drama Desk Awards (1994)
Wearing a blue corset and a white skirt, Mirren posed with Patrick Stewart at the 1994 Annual Drama Desk Awards, which was founded in 1955. The awards honor outstanding achievements by theatre artists in New York theater productions. The awards are voted on and given by theater critics, editors, publishers, journalists and broadcasters who cover theater. In 2015, Mirren won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her performance in The Audience.
Helen Mirren At The Annual Drama Desk Awards (1994)
Helen Mirren At The Academy Awards (1995)
Her floral fascinator and white ensemble made Mirren hard to miss at the Academy Awards in 1995. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work on The Madness of King George. The 1994 biographical historical comedy-drama. The benevolent King George III of England becomes mentally unstable during a period of political upheaval. An ex-minister, Dr. Willis, tries to cure the King through behaviour modification.
Helen Mirren At The Academy Awards (1995)
Helen Mirren At The Golden Globes (1997)
A red-headed Mirren donned a black feather hat, which was the focal point of her ensemble, at the 1997 Golden Globe Awards. The star won Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for her work on Losing Chase. This was the actress’s first Golden Globes. We feel like we have seen Rihanna sport something like this before. One thing is for sure. Helen Mirren looks great in anything and any hair color.
Helen Mirren At The Golden Globes (1997)
Helen Mirren At The Emmys (1997)
When Mirren walked the red carpet at the Emmy Awards in 1997, she accessorized her bronze-tinged dress with a feathered neckpiece and brown opera-length gloves. Her performance on Prime Suspect V: Errors of Judgement earned her a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie that year. She changed into a pale gold gown and wore matching satin gloves before she presented an Emmy Award to Gillian Anderson.
Helen Mirren At The Emmys (1997)