Jaws dropped all over the world as a photograph of Helen Mirren in a red bikini, first published in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper last week, was reprinted in newspapers and on websites everywhere. Mirren turns 63 on Saturday.

"The dazzling sight of Helen Mirren frolicking in her red bikini in this week’s papers gave an awful lot of women an awful lot to think about. I imagine for the most part, their thoughts were like mine - one-tenth admiring and nine-tenths green with envy and self-digust"

Helen Mirren will portray the wife of Leo Tolstoy in a forthcoming biopic about the great Russian writer entitled The Last Station.

Helen is to star as Sofia Tolstoy opposite Christopher Plummer, who has been cast as the War and Peace author. They replace Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins, who had previously been announced in the roles.

The Last Station will describe the tumultuous final year in the life of Tolstoy and his troubled marriage. The movie will be directed by Michael Hoffman, who previously shot the 1999 film adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream and the 1995 costume drama Restoration. The production is an adaptation of the eponymous 1990 book by Jay Parini and begins filming in Germany next week.

Read more and bid here
PRESS RELEASE
Dame Helen Mirren donates T-shirt to auction for deafblind charity.

Do you fancy wearing clobber from your favourite stars, but think that stealing clothes from their washing lines takes fan-dom too far? Or do you have a lust for the celebrity look but don’t quite have the wallet-power to match?

Step forward national deafblind charity Sense with a surprise pop-up celebrity charity boutique from March 4th –7th.

Dame Helen Mirren is just one of the many stars who has donated an item of clothing.  

Plus Dame Judi Dench, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Graham Norton, Corinne Bailey Rae and Roisin Murphy have also donated their favourite clothing items to raise money for people who are both deaf and blind.

Jane Arnell from Sense says: “When we asked show-business’ finest to give us the clothes off their backs – they literally did. Their clothes will become a charity auction with a difference. All the celeb items will be displayed instore, so you can check out the gear for yourself at 70 Marchmont Street London WC1 N1AB (two mins from Russell Square tube).
Or even easier visit and bid online.”

And if all that isn’t enough there are many other bargains in store to buy. Fab gear donated by Alexander McQueen, Helmut Lang, Harrods, Selfridges, Frost French, Coast, BHS will ensure that you too can dress like an A-lister. All non-celebrity items can be bought instore - there\'s no need to bid.

Helen Mirren's SAG Award Gown and Jimmy Choo SAG Award shoes and other celebrity items are currently up for auction to raise money for children's charities. Check out
www.clothesoffourback.org to bid on the clothes through March 17.

The BBC has released "Helen Mirren at the BBC", a must-own for Helen Mirren fans. Includes some titles that have never been seen by HMAS members! It is available here:

UK region 2: from or any good retailer.
US region 1: from BBC America

This elegantly packaged 6 disc box set celebrates her work with the BBC and contains 11 adaptations and films dating back to 1974.

Click on the link to read HMAS original reviews, notes, reader comments and photos from the individual pieces:

• The Changling (1974)
• The Apple Cart George Bernard Shaw’s political satire (1975)
• Caesar and Claretta (1975)
• The Philanthropist (1975)
• The Little Minister, by JM Barrie (author of Peter Pan) (1975)
• The Country Wife William Wycherley’s comedy (1977)
• Blue Remembered Hills Dennis Potter’s BAFTA- winning drama (1979)
• Mrs Reinhardt (1981)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1981)
• Cymbeline (1983)
• The Hawk (1995)

Extras include an exclusively shot interview with Helen talking about the films in this fabulous collection and a clip of her appearance on TV talk show Parkinson from 1975.

The Helen MIrren Appreciation Society received this message that we are happy to pass on:


I don't know if you are aware that Helen has done a doodle for National Doodle Day and it, along with about 300 other celebrity doodles, will be auctioned on eBay starting Friday, 7th March.

I am sure she would like to raise as much money as possible for the two charities concerned in the event and wondered if there is any way that information could be put on your website - together with a link to ours at - so all her fans can see what she has done for the event and also have the opportunity to bid for her drawing.

With many thanks

Regards

Roberta Tweedy
6 St Mary’s Road
Sindlesham RG41 5DA
Tel:  077 69 65 72 72

"National Treasure: Book of Secrets" is fun. The actors are clearly having fun working together in a project which takes itself seriously yet not too seriously. Jon Voight and Mirren have perhaps the most fun in their arguments with each other, using the others words as a catalyst for a new disagreement. Despite the fact they haven´t seen other in 32 years, there is still a level of deep respect and love between the two; both actors embrace the idea--as well as the mad cap plot-by not trying to "act" for the camera. Instead, they are real people as real people might act in their situation." - Jason P. Vargo, DVDTown.

Helen Mirren is on the cover of the January 2008 issue of woman&home magazine. An edited version of the interview is posted online here.

The long-anticipated trailer for Helen Mirren's upcoming film Inkheart can be seen here:

The film is set to be released in the US on March 19, 2008

HOLLYWOOD stars Quentin Tarantino and Dame Helen Mirren will be visiting Waterstone’s flagship Piccadilly store over the coming weeks to sign copies of their new books.

Waterstone’s invites you to come and meet Dame Helen Mirren, the internationally acclaimed actress, when she will be in store to sign her new illustrated memoir.

In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures by Helen Mirren– a fascinating account of over 40 years of success on stage and screen, with stunning photos. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Friday, September 21, 2007 at 5PM

"I'm going to keep talking until that very dramatic music begins - I love that!". With these words, Helen Mirren accepted her second Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie for her portrayal of Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect 7 - The Final Act. This is the first time anyone has won this category twice in a row. This is Helen's 4th Emmy win out of 10 nominations.

The mini-series itself was nominated for Outstanding Miniseries, but was trumped by Broken Trail.

Director Philip Martin scored in the category: Outstanding Directing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special. In his speech, he thanked Dame Helen for inspiring them all, and writer Frank Deasy took the prize for Outstanding Writing For A Miniseries.

A kind visitor to our guestbook left a link to some photos of Helen at a party at the British Embassy in Moscow. See the photos here.

Helen Mirren has been nominated for an Emmy in the category Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie for her role as Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PS7). The mini-series nabbed three nominations of its own for Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Writing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special (writer Frank Deasy), Outstanding Directing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special (director Philip Martin).
And a little trivia:
If Helen wins, she'll be the first person ever to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie twice in a row!

If you haven't seen Prime Suspect 7, you can get it here:

- from an article for Digital Spy by Daniel Kilkelly

Dame Helen Mirren has described the BBC as a "disgrace" for releasing misleading footage of Queen Elizabeth.

The actress, who played Elizabeth II in the Oscar Award-winning movie "The Queen" last year, was shocked by the misleading trailer for its documentary "A Year With The Queen", which appeared to show the monarch storming out of a photo-shoot with photographer Annie Leibowitz.

Speaking to Sir David Frost on Al Jazeera English TV news, Mirren said that the corporation was "idiotic", adding: "The BBC should have known better. I think it was a disgrace."

The BBC has since apologized for its mistake.

Is the title for Helen Mirren's soon-to-be released memoir. The book, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson is due out this fall and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com among other places.
Publisher's synopsis:

"This delightful memoir starts with contents of the trunk, with evocative pictures of Helen's Russian antecedents. She has kept a rich seam of photographs and memorabilia from her life, and her parents, family life, childhood, teenage and early years as an actress living in insalubrious flats are vividly documented. Helen's many distinguished roles in theatre, cinema and television and the illustrious men and women she has encountered are commemorated, as well as her forays into Hollywood and her subsequent life in the US with her husband, film director Taylor Hackford. Golden Globe and Oscar ceremonies make their appearance, as do many stunning images of Helen by the world's leading photographers. "

ISBN: 9780297851974

Helen Mirren is set to star in a new film set in the strife-torn Gaza Strip. Mirren will portray one of the few Jewish women left in the Strip. Her daughter, a journalist, is having a relationship with a Palestinian but is shot and killed.

"It's much more a human interest story rather than a political one," said Andy Harries whose company, Left Bank Pictures, is making Gaza.
"The movie is inspired by events in Gaza and not by any particular real incident." Frank Deasy, the scriptwriter who wrote the final Prime Suspect, and Philip Martin, the director, were due in Gaza in April to continue their research. But the kidnapping of Alan Johnston, the BBC correspondent, has made it too dangerous. Instead the filming will take place in Jordan.

The fun and enthusiastic owners of clothing company Livi'n Out Loud, rejoiced when they learned that Helen Mirren and husband Taylor Hackford liked the Liv'n Out Loud t-shirts they received in their Sundance Film Festival gift bags. The liked them so much that they

immediately ordered several shirts for themselves and their friends. Apparently following the motto "If it's good enough for Hel and Tay it's good enough for us" the members of the Helen Mirren Appreciation Society flooded Liv'n Out Loud with orders. It seems that the HMAS is a miny force of nature economically speaking, something that the group has demonstrated many times in its 10-year history with coordinated donations to Oxfam, support of an LA homeless center, ongoing support of the HMAS website, impromptu travel grants for needy members so that they can attend Helen Mirren plays and get-togethers and more.

The third makeover of the HMAS website was started today. Made possible by the generous donations by several members, particularly Harrison, and to tireless tester, our MirrenTalk and photo moderator Nadine. Special thanks to them, to Anne Petree and Elaine for film reviews and all the others who contributed material and support.

With these words, Dame Helen accepted the Academy award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Elizabeth II in Stephen Frear's The Queen.

Third time was indeed a charm as Helen's Oscar win comes after two nominations (for The Madness of King George and Gosford Park) and decades of outstanding performances.
The warmest congratulations from the Helen Mirren Appreciation Society!

Helen Mirren continues gobbling up awards like PacMan does dots, adding a Bafta for Best Actress to her collection of prizes for the leading role performance in The Queen. Stephen Frears film also won the British Academy of Film and Television Award for best film.