Latest news with #TaylorHackford
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Helen Mirren celebrates 80th birthday: Have a look at her marriage to director Taylor Hackford
Helen Mirren turns 80 on Saturday, July 26, 2025, and she is marking the occasion with the man who has been by her side for nearly three decades - director Taylor Hackford. The two have been married for 27 years, though marriage was not something Mirren ever saw as essential. While Helen Mirren's career spans everything from The Queen to Prime Suspect, she has been busy in recent years with roles on TV.(IMDb) 'I always said I have nothing against marriage,' she told AARP back in 2016. 'It just wasn't to my taste, like turnips. I just had to meet the right turnip,' she said. That 'right turnip' turned out to be Hackford, who she met on the set of his 1985 film White Nights. They got married in 1997, a full decade after they began dating. 'We got married in the end because we realized that we were going to be together forever,' Mirren said. Also read: James Bond star Pierce Brosnan is on board with Helen Mirren's criticism of 007 films:'Certain agreement there…' Helen Mirren birthday: Her relationship with Taylor Hackford While Mirren's career spans everything from The Queen to Prime Suspect, she has been busy in recent years with TV roles. She was part of the second season of 1923, the Yellowstone prequel, and appears in Guy Ritchie's gritty drama MobLand. Hackford, now 80, is no stranger to the spotlight either. The Oscar-winning director has helmed classics like An Officer and a Gentleman, The Devil's Advocate and Blood In, Blood Out. He is also a former president of the Directors Guild of America. Hello! Magazine noted that the couple's connection began on set, when Helen Mirren was 38. They eventually married in a small ceremony in Scotland. Also read: I never liked James Bond, the way women were in it, says Helen Mirren Life at home and the secret to 27 years Over the years, the pair have split their time between Los Angeles, New Orleans, London, and Nevada. During the pandemic lockdowns, they stayed at their home in Lake Tahoe. 'It's given me the opportunity to be with my husband in a sort of normal everyday way, which has been fantastic,' Mirren told The Independent. As for the secret to their long marriage? 'My theory has always been that this is why we're still together: because we've spent so much time apart, we're always pleased to see each other,' she told You Magazine. FAQs Who is Helen Mirren's husband? She is married to Taylor Hackford, the Oscar-winning director. When did Helen Mirren marry Taylor Hackford? They married in December 1997. Where did Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford meet? They met on the set of the 1985 film White Nights. What's the secret to Helen Mirren's long marriage? She credits time apart for keeping her marriage strong.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Acting royalty Helen Mirren at 80 - 'Don't ever tell me to grow old gracefully!'
Dame Helen Mirren is as fearless, feisty and adventurous as ever. And as she celebrates her 80th birthday today, 26 July, she can certainly rest in the knowledge that she remains one of Britain's most ageless actors - one who has always pushed tirelessly against the idea of how long a woman can remain 'relevant' - particularly on-screen. The national treasure, who has played a whole host of iconic roles, from Detective Jane Tennison in the television series Prime Suspect to her Oscar-winning turn as Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 film The Queen reveals the secrets to her 40-year relationship with husband director Taylor Hackford. She also reveals she never plans a thing when it comes to the future - and why, as she prepares to celebrate her milestone birthday, the last thing she wants to hear is that she looks 'good for her age' or worse, that she's 'ageing gracefully'... How is your approach to ageing gracefully helping you with turning 80? I am not ageing gracefully at all! I hate that term - 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's 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. How do you feel when someone says you look good for your age? Insulted (laughs). 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! You've often credited the 1950s Canadian Air Force program for keeping you looking so fit and healthy... That's true. I have to admit, I don't do it so much now, and I should get back into it. It is a great way to get fit. You just do what they tell you to do. You start very low and you think, 'Oh, this is just much too easy.' And if it is, then you start making it more difficult for yourself. Then you go, 'Oh my God, no, this is really difficult.' It can be quite challenging, but it works. It's great.' What are your top tips to keep looking and feeling good? It's as important to make the inside of you, as healthy as the outside of you. I always go everywhere with my vitamins. That is probably the most important thing in my beauty bag, actually. What you eat, what you drink, what you don't smoke, really makes a massive difference to your skin, especially as you progress through life. It's incredibly important to feed the inside of your skin, as much as the outside of your skin.' How has your relationship with beauty and image changed over the years? The majority of us are not beautiful. There are beautiful people who walk on this planet, and we can all see them and appreciate them, but the majority of us are not beautiful like that. But, we can put on style, we can put on swagger, we can put on confidence, we can put on wit and charm, and lots of other things that are just as attractive as sheer beauty. So, I think in a way, that word - beauty - it alienates people. It did for me, for many years, I have to say. Is there anything you've learned about beauty that you wish you'd known when you were younger? Yes, to let go of the concept of beauty. Think of confidence. Think 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 thirties and being told, if I used this cream, I could look like I was a teenager again, with absolutely no marks of any living whatsoever. That annoyed me. Luckily, we have gone way beyond that. Where does your own confidence and swagger come from? It took a while and I'm 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.' You play many strong, ferocious characters on-screen. Are you anything like them in real-life? I wouldn't say I'm ferocious. I'm a total wimp. I'm not a confrontational person at all. I can be argumentative sometimes - more so when I was younger. I would defend positions that I thought were correct. I have always been a feminist, and argumentative but, I don't think I am ferocious. Maybe people would have a different idea of me, I don't know. How do you look back on your career up to now? Yes, well, you know, I think I was brave. I have to say, as a young actress, I think I was courageous. I was. And keen to break down attitudes that I thought were old-fashioned, or retrograde, or just wrong, you know. So, I relished having roles. That is the great thing about drama, is that it can do that, without being lecturing because it is entertaining at the same time. It can really change people's attitudes about things.' Have you always been at ease with being in the spotlight? No, not at all. A lot of actors become actors because they are shy, in a way. They find being themselves quite difficult, so it is much easier to become someone else. I think that was the case with me, to a certain extent, certainly when I started.' Your next film is The Thursday Murder Club. What can you tell us about that? It's based on the extremely successful Thursday books. It's with a some beloved fellow British actors and it's a very British subject. I'm really excited about it. Do you still feel British - though you're a big Hollywood star, live in America and have an American husband? I do. I'm very proud to be British and it's funny because even in America I seem to be surrounded by Brits. It's full of them! The world has become so much smaller. You and your husband have been together for 40 years and married for more almost 30. What's your secret? I think it helps that we're both in the same business. We understand what we each go through and the demands on your time. But the main thing is trust. As long as you trust and respect each other, and are not jealous of each other, then it works. We came into the relationship already very grown-up, so all of that crap was out of the way. And it's not such a bad thing to be separated for two or three weeks from time to time. That's fine, as long as you trust each other and really look forward to seeing each other again. Finally, what are your plans for this next chapter of your life? I have no idea. You know, when I was 20, I didn't know what my twenties would be like. I didn't know what my thirties would be like... I still have no idea and that's the adventure. Life is an adventure. I don't plan anything. I don't expect anything. I will just allow life to come and hit me, the way it always has. 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