Dame Helen Mirren feels "insulted" when people tell her she looks good for her age
The 80-year-old actress hates the "patronising" comment so much, Helen has warned people will be "dissed" by her in a "major way" if they say it
9 August 2025
She is quoted by the new issue of Britain's Best magazine as saying: "I feel insulted!
"'You look good for your age' is patronising. I hate that kind of comment.
"Be prepared, if you use that phrase, to be dissed in a major way!"
The MobLand star also loathes the term "ageing gracefully" because she is "not".
Helen explained: "I am not ageing gracefully at all!
"I hate that term because it sounds like you have to be elegant and accepting, and, no, I am not.
"I am ageing with fun, with commitment, but not gracefully. Who cares about graceful?
"We just do grow older, there is no way you can escape that.
"You have to grow up with your own body, your own face and the way it changes.
"It's not always easy, but it is inevitable. You have to learn to accept it."
The RED star also wished she had ignored the idea of beauty when she was younger.
Helen added: "Think of confidence. Think of swagger. Enjoy beauty where you see it, absolutely, but let go of it for yourself.
"Don't let it influence your thinking in any way.
"I remember being in my 30s and being told, if I used this cream, I could look like a teenager again, with absolutely no marks of any living whatsoever.
"That annoyed me. Luckily, we have gone way beyond that."
The Queen actress felt very insecure as a child because of how her body looked.
Asked where her confidence and swagger come from, Helen said: "It took a while, and I am still working on it.
"I was very, very insecure as a young person. My body was the wrong shape.
"I was very insecure around people. The most important thing is to remember that probably everybody feels the same."
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