Helen Mirren used to "hate" her appearance as it wasn't "fashionable". The Oscar-winning actress still looks as youthful and stunning at 72 as she did during the early days of her career, and her striking appearance has always garnered admiration. But Helen wasn't always accepting of her sex symbol status, admitting it made her feel self-conscious during a time in which another aesthetic proved to be more popular.
Helen Mirren used to feel self-conscious of her appearance
"I could see why - when I got far enough back from my young self - they called me sexy in those days," she recalled to Allure magazine. "I fell into the cliche of sexiness: blonde hair, t*ts, waist, which I hated at the time because it was not fashionable. You had to be thin and have a cigarette and only wear black. And I just never fit into that look.”
She went on to note her 20s coincided with fashion model Twiggy's rise to fame, though Helen "did not look like a twig". In fact, she was rather critical of her appearance during her interview, insisting her cheeks were "too fat", legs too short and breasts "too big".
Helen opened up about what she thinks defines beauty
Quizzed on who she thinks embodies sexiness in this day and age, the Woman in Gold star cited her flame-haired The Debt co-star Jessica Chastain before explaining why.
“It's not necessarily to do with confidence because I'm sure if (Jessica were) sitting here, she'd say, 'Oh, God, I'm not confident at all,'" Helen shrugged. "It's an interior power that comes from her intelligence. When intelligence is combined with beauty, it's extraordinary... (like) Natalie Portman.”
Helen can't as easily define the word beauty though as she feels 90 per cent of women don't fit the bill, citing words including mesmerising, attractive and interesting instead. The esteemed screen star believes beauty is "inside", and that labelling people with the word can cause more damage than positivity.
"When it's tied to pictures of people and amazing outfits on girls who can wear that stuff, it's intimidating for the rest of us," Helen concluded.