40 Timeless Photos Of Helen Mirren That Are Leaving Fans In Awe

Helen Mirren has been an icon of cinema for many decades now. And if you weren’t around in her earliest days, you missed out. But don’t worry. Here’s her evolution as it happened in photographs — from attractive young rising star to the fierce, fashionable mature lady we know and love today.

40. Cleopatra, 1965

Mirren was a complete unknown before this starring role on stage. She played Cleopatra in an Old Vic production of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, and it turned out to be her big break. She was only 19 years old at the time, but her captivating performance bagged her an agent.  

39. With Nicholas Egon, 1965

Egon was clearly very taken with Mirren if this picture is anything to go by. Here they’re at the Cartouche restaurant re-enacting how they first met. Mirren actually did a lot for Egon’s career. After he painted her as Cleopatra, he began receiving commissions from rich and famous families around the world.

38. Admiring a portrait, 1965

Mirren’s performance as Cleopatra made waves on stage, but the starlet had an early impact on the London art scene as well. One day, she was going about her business in a Hampstead restaurant when an artist named Nicholas Egon, who had been struck by her beauty in the role, spotted her and introduced himself. He subsequently painted her and then took her to the studio to see the portrait.

37. At King's Cross Hotel, 1968

This pic shows a 22-year-old Mirren in London looking fresh-faced and very stylish indeed in a patterned white dress. She had her whole career ahead of her at this point and was being lauded for her talent. But probably even she had no idea of the heights she was going to reach.

36. In an Australian airport, 1968

Mirren’s first major film role was in an Australian film called Age of Consent, filmed on Dunk Island. This was all a very new experience for the 22-year-old Brit. She told Venice magazine in 2006, “That was an amazing experience, very surreal! I’d hardly been on an airplane before doing that film, and here I was in the first-class compartment of a QANTAS airliner on this long plane ride to Australia.”

35. Troilus and Cressida, 1968

Even though she was becoming a movie star, Mirren still wanted to tread the boards. In 1968 she played another Shakespeare title character, this time in John Barton’s version of Troilus and Cressida. The play didn’t get particularly good reviews, with The Sunday Times newspaper basically saying Mirren was too good for it.

34. At Heathrow Airport, 1969

Here’s Mirren at Heathrow Airport, then simply known as London Airport, back in 1969. Is she posing specifically for the cameras or does she just look that flawless all the time? She was having a busy year at this point, as she was both finishing Age of Consent and starring in Troilus and Cressida.

33. Age of Consent, 1968

The movie Age of Consent increased Mirren’s profile all the more. She played an attractive young woman named Cora who becomes the muse of a painter – sounds quite similar to her actual life, no? There were nude scenes in the film, and that helped turn her into a sex symbol of the era.

32. At a reception, 1969

This photo shows Mirren at a promotional reception for Age of Consent. Recalling the filming experience years later in 2006 she told Venice magazine, “I was running around, hardly wearing anything and working with the great James Mason, who was very kind. So it was a completely wonderful, very strange, very surreal experience.”

31. Cannes, 1973

Mirren went to the Cannes Film Festival for the first-ever time in 1973 to promote the movie O Lucky Man. It looks like she had fun! This pic shows her hanging out with some of the other people involved in the film, including actor Malcolm McDowell and director Lindsay Anderson.

30. In her home, 1975

Here’s Mirren in her home in 1975 as her career was gaining more and more momentum. She’s said that this era wasn’t the best one for her as a performer, though. In 2021 she told the American TV’s Today show, “I think the ’70s were a dreadful time for women in general, for actresses in particular.”

29. The Collection, 1975

One of Mirren’s less well-known pieces of work is The Collection, a televised play that aired on British TV in 1975. She played Stella, a woman who may or may not have cheated on her husband, alongside Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates, and her frequent collaborator of this era Malcolm McDowell. 

28. Relaxing in Windsor, 1977

Even when off the red carpet and dressed down, Mirren was a fashion icon. Here she’s wearing an oversized shirt and dungarees plus what the photographer described in the caption as “her favorite cap.” And it looks as though she’s enjoying getting a moment of relaxation out in the countryside, too.

27. Out and about, 1977

This photograph shows Mirren at her most flawless. She may be wearing standard winter clothes, but her makeup is absolutely on point. In 2020 she dispensed some beauty advice via Glamour magazine, “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.”

26. The Quiz Kid, 1979

Mirren turned into a redhead for the 1979 televised play The Quiz Kid. The Aberdeen Press and Journal newspaper wrote at the time, “Futile and empty is a fair description of the play. The only highlight was Helen Mirren’s performance as a seductive barmaid. But I was left wondering why on earth one of Britain’s top classical actresses should have taken part in such a mediocre time-filler.”

25. Excalibur, 1981

Mirren played famous bad girl Morgana Le Fay in this 1981 take on the Arthurian legend. She got a boyfriend out of it too! Liam Neeson had a small role in the movie, and when he saw the anti-heroine in her sexy costume he immediately fell for her. He asked her out and they actually ended up living together for four years.

24. With Bob Hoskins, 1981

Mirren worked with Hoskins three times – in The Long Good Friday, the play The Duchess of Malfi, and Last Orders. Here they are in The Duchess of Malfi. Mirren was among those who paid tribute to the actor after his death in 2014, writing in The Guardian that he was a “consummate professional” with “natural humanity and generosity.”

23. 2010: The Year We Make Contact, 1984

Come 1984 Mirren starred in the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyessy, a movie titled 2010: The Year We Make Contact. She played Captain Tanya Kirbuk, the commander of a Russian spaceship investigating what went wrong with the previous mission and that famous H.A.L. supercomputer. It’s not considered as good a film as 2001, but it has its fans.

22. White Nights premiere, 1985

Here Mirren attends the premiere of the movie White Nights in a beautiful white dress. She played another Russian in the film, a dancer this time. And Mirren actually is part Russian! Her family were aristocrats there before fleeing to Britain during the 1917 revolution, and at birth the famed actress was named Elena Mironova.

21. Paris, 1986

This striking photograph shows Mirren in Paris, France, during 1986 looking straight at the camera. The year 1986 wasn’t a great one for the actress, though. She made two movies that year, The Gospel According to Vic and The Mosquito Coast, and neither of them were successful. But bigger things were coming.

20. Cause Célèbre, 1987

Cause Célèbre was a drama based on a real-life murder case. Mirren played Alma Rattenbury, a woman who embarked on an affair with a much-younger man only for her elderly husband to turn up murdered. Did she do it? Or was it her lover, played on screen by David Morrissey? Mirren will keep you guessing...

19. Portrait session, 1992

Mirren’s career was going from strength to strength at the time this stunning portrait was taken. In 1992 she was cast as Detective Inspector Jane Tennison in the British TV crime show Prime Suspect, and it made her even more of a big name. Over the next few years she would pick up multiple acting awards.

18. With Miranda Richardson, 1994

Here’s Mirren having fun with another acclaimed British actress, Miranda Richardson, at the 1994 BAFTA Awards in London. Both ladies were nominated for Best Actress that night, Richardson for Tom and Viv and Mirren for Prime Suspect. In the end, it was Mirren who won, but there probably weren’t any hard feelings.

17. Los Angeles, 1995

This picture shows three acting legends all in the same place — Anthony Hopkins, Angela Lansbury, and of course Mirren. Wouldn’t you have just loved to be a fly on the wall in that room? They’d all gathered to pay tribute to Hopkins at the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards.

16. Ready to film Greenfingers, 2000

This picture was taken as Mirren prepared to star in a new comedy called Greenfingers, which is about a group of prisoners who find a new lease on life working in the prison garden. Mirren played celebrity gardener Georgina Woodhouse and said she had a lot of fun doing so after so many episodes of the grim Prime Suspect.

15. With Taylor Hackford, 2005

Mirren shares an umbrella with her husband Taylor Hackford in this cute photo from 2005. She’s been married to him since 1997, making them an impressively long-lasting Hollywood couple. Mirren believes that waiting until she was 52 years old to get married is what ensured the relationship would stand the test of time.

14. Winning an Oscar, 2007

Mirren picked up her richly deserved first Oscar in 2007 after a whole career’s worth of great performances. She won for playing one of the most famous women in the world, Queen Elizabeth II, in the film The Queen. In fact, she picked up a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her portrayal, too.

13. With Russell Crowe, 2009

Mirren played a journalist opposite Russell Crowe in the 2009 thriller State of Play. Clearly, there was some great chemistry between them. Director Kevin Macdonald said of Mirren on the red carpet at the premiere, “She is sexy and authoritative. She is brilliant when she’s giving Russell a telling-off.”

12. Getting her Walk of Fame star, 2013

Mirren got her Walk of Fame star in 2013, a high honor indeed. She was full of laughs during the ceremony, joking about her star being next to that of another famous Brit. She said, “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.”

11. With pink hair, 2013

Mirren dazzled with a shocking, and shockingly pink, new haircut at the 2013 BAFTA awards. She explained to the Daily Mail newspaper, “I was watching America’s Next Top Model and the season where there were the British girls... the British girl who won, she had pink hair, and I thought: ‘That looks really pretty.’ So I’m copying her, basically.”

10. Wearing a hat, 2016

As soon as Mirren tried her hand at Instagram, she proved to be brilliant at it. Grazia magazine even called it “the best thing on the internet” back in 2016. This pic from that year is captioned, “Last week in Paris at the Pirelli calendar launch. This is Peter Lindbergh's hat. He left it on the table. I hope he got it back.”

9. Paris Fashion Week, 2017

Mirren looked unimaginably chic walking the L’Oreal runway at Paris Fashion Week in 2017. As she twirled her cane around on stage the crowd went absolutely wild and clamored to take her picture. It was one of the standouts of the entire week and proved Mirren was still a fashion icon at 72 years old.

8. Going out, 2018

Whether she’s in a red-carpet outfit or casual clothes, Mirren somehow always manages to look amazing. This March 2018 Instagram pic shows Mirren posing in her house with the caption, “My present goto going out outfit. Pants by Giada Forte and sweater by Escada.” The photo naturally got thousands of likes.

7. Sitting on the steps, 2019

Mirren just exudes cool wherever she goes, even when doing the most mundane of things. The actress posted this picture to Instagram on Halloween 2019 and captioned it, “Last night premier[e] of The Good Liar. Fish and chips at the end of the night in the very beautiful Home House.”

6. Stopping traffic, 2019

This unconventional pic shows a yellow-clad Mirren posing with some road equipment – and making it look good. She wrote on Instagram, “Screening premiere of The Good Liar in New York. Later that night after the red carpet I got together with some traffic control!” She also took the opportunity to thank her stylist Lee Harris.

5. With her stylists, 2020

Mirren always likes to credit her stylists for their work. She posted this Instagram picture a few days after the 2020 Golden Globes ceremony, where she had worn a stunning floor-length red dress. And she gave the pic the self-deprecating caption, “Thank you team for making an empress out of a serf!”

4. Cannes, 2021

Mirren looked fantastic at the Cannes Film Festival in July 2021. She told People magazine, “I love the opportunity to wear incredibly beautiful clothes. I appreciate the craft of couture. I’m a girl, I love, love dressing up. And then I’m perfectly happy to give it all away at the end of the night and go back to my scruffy, Bohemian outfits.”

3. Venice, 2021

Mirren had a fantastic time in Venice come August 2021. She arrived at the Alta Moda show wearing a stunning outfit: a golden Dolce & Gabbana ball gown decorated with Renaissance-era artwork. As the day went on she got to ride on boats, dance with Vin Diesel, and just generally make everyone green with envy.

2. Madres Paralelas premiere, 2021

While in Venice Mirren also attended the premiere of the film Madres Paralelas at the Venice Film Festival, and she did so while wearing an absolutely show-stopping dress. It was a glittering metallic Dolce & Gabbana number, paired with a matching clutch and an Alice band for her hair.

1. Telluride Film Festival, 2021

In September 2021 Mirren appeared at the Telluride Film Festival to promote her new movie The Duke. She dressed casually in jeans, sweatshirt, espadrilles, and funky blue earrings — comfortable wear that still looked fantastic on her. She was 76 years old at this point, but you’d never have guessed it.

Mirren looks very good for her age. But then again, so do lots of iconic stars born in a similar era. You’d never guess it, but Julie Andrews is a full 10 years older than Mirren — making her 86! The pair both look radiant here! Like Mirren, Andrews has come a long way since starting out. And her best moments were also captured on camera...

40. With Shy the dog

Back in 1958 Andrews bought a cute little dog along with fiancé Tony Walton and they named the animal “Shy.” She turned out to be quite the celebrated pup, too! Andrews remembered in her 2008 autobiography that the animal could almost “sing scales,” and the media was delighted that the famous star owned a singing dog.

39. With Audrey Hepburn

There was a famous connection between Andrews and her fellow actress Audrey Hepburn. Both were up for the lead in the film version of My Fair Lady, but the former was turned down in favor of the latter. Yet the two women were super close friends – especially since Andrews’ husband Blake Edwards was the director of Hepburn’s iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

38. Promotion for Star!

This pic shows Julie Andrews all dressed up while promoting the film Star! in which she played a stage sensation by the name of Gertrude Lawrence. You’ll note that she’s dressed more extravagantly here – the costumes for Star! were ostentatious and stunning ones. Though it sadly didn’t translate into big box office success.

37. In Thoroughly Modern Millie

After Andrews’ star-making turns in both The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, Hollywood producers wanted to capture the magic a third time. The result was Thoroughly Modern Millie – a big-budget musical that garnered seven Oscar nominations. Though despite Andrews’ winning performance, it didn’t go down in history like the other two movies.

36. Posing in 1965

This picture was taken during one of the biggest years of Andrews’ career. It was in 1965 that The Sound of Music came out and immediately conquered the box office. Not only that: Andrews also won her first Oscar for the lead role in Mary Poppins. Yep, she was a star having a meteoric rise.

35. As Eliza Doolittle

This picture shows Andrews writing letters offstage in her Eliza Doolittle costume. She played the role during My Fair Lady’s Broadway run. Yet when it came to the 1964 movie version, Andrews wasn’t considered famous enough yet to reprise the role. The star was reportedly displeased at the time, but it seems she got over it.

34. Visiting troops

This photograph shows Julie Andrews visiting the training camp of the 25th Infantry Division in 1965. The men she’s talking to are – from left to right – Corporal Ricardo San Nicolas and Major General Frederick C. Weyand. At the time the Vietnam War was in full swing, and Andrews’ visit was noted by the media.

33. Marrying Tony Walton

In 1959 Andrews married her first husband: costume designer Tony Walton. He would later go on to create her iconic Mary Poppins outfits, but unfortunately the marriage itself didn’t last. Andrews was reportedly desperate to salvage the relationship – as her own parents had been divorced – but it was to no avail.

32. On the deck of a cruise ship

What’s gone on here? It looks like the aftermath of one truly amazing party. Oh, you may be cool, but could you match Julie Andrews casually drinking wine while balancing on a ship’s rail wearing an amazing outfit and surrounded by colorful streamers? No, we didn’t think so either.

31. In The Sound of Music

Check out that bright orange hair Andrews had for The Sound of Music. It wasn’t actually planned, though. She remembered in her 2009 book Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years that “there was a mistake in the coloring process” but “as luck would have it, this gave me a more Austrian look.”

30. With Bing Crosby

Here’s an 18-year-old Julie Andrews filming High Tor in 1955 alongside Bing Crosby. This flick is considered to be the first ever made-for-television movie – there’s yet another piece of film history Andrews was part of. It was also her first time on American TV, and according to the website Stage Door, it was Crosby who insisted she be cast.

29. In 1955

Andrews looks almost unrecognizable in this 1955 photograph. That dress with its long white skirt is totally gorgeous, and her red lipstick is flawlessly applied. But the expression on her face is difficult to read. Is she assuming that look for the camera, or did a photographer capture her off-guard in a thoughtful moment?

28. On the set of Torn Curtain

Alfred Hitchcock watches Julie Andrews on the set of Torn Curtain in this image. The flick should’ve been a hit – considering the director and its star – but it wasn’t. Torn Curtain was a critical flop on release and is almost forgotten about today. And Hitchcock rather ungraciously laid most of the blame at Andrews’ feet, according to filmmaker Larry Cohen.

27. Andrews in 1969

Here Andrews stares pensively into the camera as if she knows her career is about to take a downturn. This stylish shot was taken in 1969, and over the next few years her films would start to expensively flop – making roles dry up. It wasn’t all bad, though. Andrews began to write children’s books during her temporary time away from acting.

26. With Sidney Poitier

Here, two iconic and hugely successful actors pose together at the 1964 Academy Awards – and in stylishly matching outfits, too. Check out Andrews’ silver brooch and those huge sparkling earrings! Both Andrews and Poitier qualify as living legends now, as two of the few surviving representatives of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

25. A promotional portrait

Here’s Julie Andrews dressed to the nines in a promotional portrait for Star! in 1968. She didn’t style herself like this all the time, but images like this make you wish she did. Star! actually set a record for the amount of costumes made for one actress in a film: according to IMDB, the final number was 125!

24. As Mary Poppins

Of course, it’s almost impossible to imagine Julie Andrews without thinking of Mary Poppins as well. She even got a begrudging approval from the original creator of Poppins – author P.L. Travers. The actress remembered to the USA Today show in 2013 that Travers’ exact words were, “You’re far too pretty, of course. But you’ve got the nose for it.”

23. In My Fair Lady

Andrews looks absolutely stunning in this picture. The star is dressed in a ballgown and headpiece for My Fair Lady, and she looks like she was born to wear them. The musical was such a big part of her life that in 2016 Andrews directed a special 60th anniversary version of the show for the Sydney Opera House.

22. With Richard Burton

Andrews and Richard Burton appeared alongside each other in the ’60s musical Camelot, and they quickly became friends. It was, however, just that. According to The Independent, Andrews once said that Burton called her up just to tell her she was the only female co-star he’d never slept with. And in response, she apparently asked him not to spread that claim around!

21. In her wedding dress

Julie Andrews looked every bit the perfect bride when she married Tony Walton back in 1959. And the wedding dress was created by none other than the groom himself – working from designs made by Andrews’ friend and costumier Madame de Rachelle. The website Parallel Julie Verse notes that it cost around £350, which was a lot of money back then.

20. Her last performance in Victor/Victoria

This pic shows Andrews in 1997 delivering her last performance in the show Victor/Victoria. Unfortunately, she had to quit after developing problems with her vocal chords. An operation to remove non-cancerous vocal nodules had gone wrong – and two years later Andrews filed a malpractice lawsuit against the doctor who did it.

19. In a roller derby outfit

Here’s Andrews on the set of her variety show The Julie Andrews Hour in 1972, all dressed up for a roller derby. The program only lasted a year in all and ran for 24 episodes. But it was a lot of fun while it lasted. Andrews even had the Muppets on as guests at one point!

18. Reading in her apartment

This photo – taken in 1956 – shows a 20-year-old Andrews reading a book in her New York apartment. At the time, this might have been an entirely new world for her to get used to. The talent grew up poor in England – living with her mother and an allegedly abusive stepfather. But once My Fair Lady took off her life totally changed.

17. In Thoroughly Modern Millie

Julie Andrews rocked some truly amazing looks in the film Thoroughly Modern Millie. This is one of the best: a black and white checkerboard-patterned day dress ornamented with a red flower and matching hat. The outfit was created by designer Jean Louis, and it currently sits in the Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design.

16. With a group of famous faces

This picture shows not one, but multiple acting legends of the ’60s and beyond. Here, at the 1964 Golden Globes, Andrews enjoys her win alongside Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen and Rock Hudson. That night, she won an award for her memorable role Mary Poppins.

15. In 1960

This photograph of a young, smiling, fresh-faced Andrews was taken just as she was starting out on her career. She’d already done some of her most acclaimed Broadway work – The Boy Friend, My Fair Lady – and was just starting out in Camelot. Though the movie stardom was still to come.

14. With Rex Harrison

Rex Harrison played Henry Higgins alongside Andrews in the Broadway production of My Fair Lady. Things between the actors were allegedly nowhere near as calm and pleasant as they seem in this photo, though. Harrison reportedly despised his young and inexperienced co-star, and Andrews wasn’t very impressed with him either.

13. Pulling a face

Here, a bejeweled Julie Andrews looks weirded out by something happening to the side of her. What was it? We don’t know, but it makes for a great photograph. This particular shot was taken in around 1990, when Andrews was beginning to dedicate the same amount of attention on charity work as her acting.

12. In 1950

Andrews looks wholesome as ever here in this pre-fame photograph sporting a smile and a white wooly sweater. And that wholesomeness was always a major part of her appeal. According to a 1973 article in Women’s Own magazine, an American newspaper once said Andrews was “so virginal she makes Doris Day look like a tart.” Apparently, they meant this as a compliment!

11. In The Americanization of Emily

Andrews and James Garner snuggle up in this shot from their 1964 movie The Americanization of Emily. The British star was trying to escape typecasting at that point, but it didn’t quite work. She told The Guardian in 2020, “Poppins and The Sound of Music were so successful that they crowded out and eliminated the less child-friendly movies I did, like Hawaii and The Americanization of Emily.”

10. With Liza Minelli

Andrews left the Broadway production of Victor/Victoria in 1997, and Liza Minelli took over her role. This picture – where Andrews seems to look a little sad – is from 1996 at a press conference announcing the changeover. Apparently, though, Minnelli ended up in a feud with her co-star Tony Roberts when it was her turn.

9. Posing outside

Here’s a young Andrews out in the fresh air among greenery – something she always loved. In 2019 newspaper The Guardian asked her, “What did you want to be when you were growing up?” and she gave the slightly surprising answer of, “A botanist or a florist.” Also, her favorite smell, she said, was “fresh earth in a warm greenhouse.”

8. In Darling Lili

Rumor has it that Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson hated kissing each other in Darling Lili so much that as soon as they heard the word “cut!” the two would wipe their mouths. There’s no sign of that in this photograph, but the film wasn’t a hit. Although most critics liked Andrews’ performance, they weren’t keen on the actual movie.

7. With Burt Reynolds

In 1983 Andrews took the female lead alongside Burt Reynolds in The Man Who Loved Women. Unfortunately, it was another flop for her. At the time of writing, review aggregator website RottenTomatoes has it at a mere 33 percent. Andrews’ husband Blake Edwards directed the film, so hopefully things weren’t too awkward there.

6. Publicity handout

This picture is from a photoshoot Andrews did at the beginning of her career. It seems calculated to highlight all the aspects that made her so appealing – that English rose look and innocent face. Andrews herself is fine with that being the image she projects. The actress has said in interviews that this is simply how it worked out!

5. With Carol Burnett

Andrews was always great friends with another leading lady: Carol Burnett. This is them in 1965 doing the television special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall. Burnett is the godmother of Andrews’ daughter – they’re that close. Once they reportedly even made out in public as a prank and accidentally caught the attention of a woman they’re sure was Lady Bird Johnson!

4. As Millie

When it was time to release Thoroughly Modern Millie in Andrews’ native U.K., distributors the Rank Organization went all out on a scale we’d never even consider today. They had a brand new cinema – the Odeon St. Martin’s Lane – built in London. Luckily, all their work paid off and the film was a hit. Apparently, the presence of Andrews was a license to print money!

3. With Blake Edwards

Andrews’ second husband was film director Blake Edwards – here they are on the set of Victor/Victoria. They remained married and very much in love for four decades until Edwards sadly passed away in 2010. Five years on Andrews told the show Good Morning Britain, “We were married 41 years and it was a love story… I’m still dealing with [his death].”

2. In Torn Curtain

Moviegoing audiences were very excited to see Andrews in the Hitchcock film Torn Curtain. She starred alongside Paul Newman and – perhaps even more importantly – sported a stylish new hairdo. But in years to come, Andrews would muse that Hitchcock gave the role thanks to her looks more than anything else.

1. Winning a Golden Globe

In 1964 Andrews won a Golden Globe for Mary Poppins and made a subtle jibe in her acceptance speech. She named Jack Warner, the man who hadn’t cast her in My Fair Lady, as the person “who made this all possible.” For one moment Andrew worried she’d gone too far, but she hadn’t – a year later the actress won it again!