English actress with Russian roots Helen Mirren
English actress with Russian roots Helen Mirren
Born Elena Lydia Vasilievna Mironova, on 26 July 1945, her father, Vasily Petrovich Mironov (1913-1980) was Russian and her granddad Pyotr Vasilievich Mironov, was a military engineer. He served in the Russian Government Committee in London, where he worked on acquisition of arms and military equipment for the Russian army. Convinced monarchist, Pyotr Vasilyevich didn’t accept Russian revolution and remained in the UK. Her grandmother Lydia Andreevna Kamenskaya belonged to the noble Russian family of counts. In 2010, Helen Mirren met in Moscow with her Russian relatives. Meanwhile, Helen Mirren joked about her Russian origin: “I’m half Russian, always say that the bottom half is Russian”.
Helen graduated from the girls’ school in the town of Southend-on-sea, and then enrolled at the drama college in London. Mirren has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival awards for Best Actress.
Noteworthy, Queen Elizabeth II refused to watch this film, as she did not want to return to “one of the worst weeks of her life”. Interestingly, jewels, which Helen Mirren wears in the film — exact copies of real jewels of Queen Elizabeth II. For example, in the scene at the funeral of Diana, the Queen’s jewelry was: her distinctive necklace made of 3 strands of pearls, bow brooch, button earrings, and Queen Mary’s big pearl earrings, topped with tiny diamonds.
English actress with Russian roots Helen Mirren
On 11 May 2010, Mirren attended the unveiling of her waxwork at Madame Tussauds London. The figure reportedly cost £150,000 to make and took four months to complete. On January 3, 2013, for her contribution to the film industry she was honored with a star on Mirren’s walk of Fame. Helen joked about her star’s proximity to that of The King’s Speech actor Colin Firth, stating: “I couldn’t be prouder and more happy that I’m actually going to finally lie next to Colin Firth, something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time.” Dame Helen Lydia Mirren.
sources
helenmirrenofficial.com
kinopoisk.ru
magazine Anglia, 2-1981