I love Helen Mirren, but only when I can stand back and appreciate her extraordinary talent, and I don’t have to listen to some of the crazy things she says. Like when she said that women can’t take a man to court for raping them, or that locking a woman in a closet and forcing her to have sex isn’t rape, or that female jurors won’t convict a man of rape because of sexual jealousy. Mirren is a little batty in real life, so she’s one of those people I try not to read about. But this recent interview got me – Mirren thinks that she has no judgment for women who go through plastic surgery, because she completely understands that someone could look at themselves and say “’I don’t want to look at that face anymore.” Hmm…
Helen Mirren might not opt to go under the knife herself, but she doesn’t judge her Hollywood cohorts for getting plastic surgery.
“You go, ‘I don’t want to look at that face anymore,’ and I understand that, absolutely,” the actress told British morning show GMTV.
The 64-year-old star added, “I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want to make themselves feel happy.”
One thing about her body — which she flaunted in a red bikini back in 2008 — she doesn’t like is a tattoo she got when she was just a teen.
“I was very, very drunk,” she said recently. “It was a very, very long time ago, when only sailors and Hell’s Angels were tattooed, honestly, and prisoners. I decided to get a tattoo because it was the most shocking thing I could think of doing.”
Although she said she’s now “utterly disgusted” by the body art, the Queen star braved a thorough, full-body examination by Madame Tussauds wax museum.
“To be measured by calipers, every inch of you, it’s a bit intimidating,” she told GMTV of the process to create a wax figurine in her likeness, which is set to debut in April. “Every inch of you gets measured!”
[From Us Weekly]
In theory, I kind of agree with the whole “live and let live” thing for plastic surgery. I said, in theory! In practice I know I do get judgy. It offends me when a beautiful woman ruins their face with some jacked up procedure. It offends me when one of those women suddenly reappears with a new face and acts like nothing happened. It offends me when those actresses deny their plastic surgery.
By the way, I still don’t like this dress Mirren wore to the SAGs, and I can’t believe so many of you liked it! To me, it looks so cheap, and it ages her terribly.
Helen Mirren and her husband Taylor Hackford at the SAGs on January 23, 2010. Credit: WENN.
In all respect, the dress wasn’t really that bad….
Plastic surgery doesn’t offend me, but it does make me really sad. It’s a very complex kind of sadness, for me. Part of me is sad that women feel their worth is so related to their looks. Even if you are only doing it for you, because ‘I don’t want to look at that face anymore,’ it’s still saying to me that you’re valuing your looks above all else. It seems like every time someone gets ‘refreshed’, they’re endorsing the idea that you have to pretty to be successful. That is sad and frustrating.
And then there are days when I feel like an ugly duckling and that I can’t possibly compete with the naturally gorgeous women I see all over the place already. That’s the personal side, though.
Sure, live and let live. I would never vote to have the right to plastic surgery taken away. That does not mean, however, that I will cheer for or pat on the back the women who feel the need to surgically modify their bodies. Instead, I’ll quietly feel sad about it.
After seeing these pictures, I love the dress even more on her! She looks STUNNING! There is no doubt that she herself has had work done on her face/neck though. A little tightening up maybe but she looks good.
I feel the exact same way about Helen Mirren. Onscreen – Love her. Offscreen – She’d be better off staying mysterious and silent.
I also agree about celebs and plastic surgery. I don’t care if they’ve had it. However, when asked they should ‘Fess up or Say none of your business. Either answer I could respect. It’s when they give a straight out denial while we watch their faces morph before our eyes – That’s what bugs me.
I am all for plastic surgery as a coemetic matter. Like burn, acid, car crashes, deformed patients and yes even the middle age. But When you’re a 16 year old girl, you have to understand that you face’s bone structure is still forming and doesnt stop until your 21. You simply cannot change what hasnt even formed yet. Like some girls will get nose jobs but their faces bone structure is still growing so what they end up with is a tiny nose and wide or long faces that dont look portionate.
Go ahead and get a nose job or brow tattooed if thats what you think is wrong with you. But just know your insecurities will stil be there regardless. Unless you fix whats inside your mind – your preception of yourself – then it won’t matter how many surgies you get.
For all you girls with noses that need fixing though, wait till your 21. Fine it might be a while away, but trust me it will be worth it. The rest of you ladies love yourselves first the realy examine if it’s really nessesary.
She is really a beautiful woman. That explains her craziness and I guess it’s safe to say some beautiful women don’t grow out of their complete and total insanity.
I dont care that they have the surgery, its the denials of having the surgery that irritate me. Hell if I had the money Id like to do a few things too but if I did, Id at least be honest about it. I dont think they realize how dumb they look when they’re caught in the lie, especially since so many before/after shots are available online.
@ dee
Oh yeah I agree with that. There would be no fuss if they just said ‘ yeah I did get a nose job and pulled my face a bit, I got the money why not?” Only some chick really dont need to do it anyways.
The denials irritate me too, as do people who go overboard to the point where they’re unrecognizable.
A friend of mine had a nose job after college. It had always bothered her, and when she was an adult and had the money to do it, she did, and it made her feel a lot better about herself and that was it. That kind of stuff I can get on board with, but all the crap like that stupid Heidi did to herself is just too much. All of the women who get a lot done all start to look alike too, which is creepy.
Yeah, Helen Mirren is a beautiful women. But some of the stuff she says…
Oy sounds like Mirren has unresolved rape baggage-cant excise that baggage with crazy comments or plastic surgery, honey.
Celebrities deny their plastic surgeries because they would suddenly look dumb and vapid in public opinion (e.g. Heidi Montag). Common people need to believe that those celebrities are perfect because celebrities are their new greek gods, common people WANT them to be perfect. What if you find out that (e.g.) Angelina Jolie has had some work done?
I’m not against plastic surgery if it is properly done and I can’t blame someone for denying it. Most times it’s just a matter of proportion. e.g. my nose is not ugly but it doesn’t fit well with the rest of my face, and if I had money (and if I wasn’t a coward) I would definitely do it.
She is crazy, yes. The rape comments were off the wall & I disagree wholeheartedly.
But…I can’t hate. I am mesmerized by this woman! And I LIKE her dress.
I love Helen’s dress and think she looks radiant in it. As for batty things she supposedly said–Did you actually hear those words come out of her mouth or did someone SAY she said it?
You do know that stars are frequently misquoted.
As for anyone saying Helen had work done I don’t see it. Look at the picture above with just her head and shoulders. She has LOTS of wrinkles around her eyes and her neck is not tight. I don’t see work there at all. She does have radiantly beautiful skin though.
Princess Pea really said it beautifully.
I don’t know. I understand the impulse to get plastic surgery. No one looks in the mirror and doesn’t wish something was different.
But when I find out someone has had it, I just lose respect for them and their ‘beauty.’ I think everyone else does too, or people wouldn’t lie about it so much.
How selfish and vain do you have to be to pay someone a fortune to cut you up and stitch you up like frankenstein’s monster.
It’s stolen beauty and it feels false and gross to me.
True beauties, women/men with style and honesty and light inside them are what move me. How many people do you know that are beautiful/handsome and haven’t gone through the gross process of being knocked out and cut up? I know lots.
Vain, insecure people with money to burn, or too little imagination to give it to someone who can actually USE it for something good, aren’t attractive, at least to me.
I know, I know, I’ll get smacked down for this…
I’m raising two daughters and it would break my heart if they wanted to do violence to themselves over something so shallow. JMO
PS. I love Helen Mirren’s dress and her acting. Her views on rape, notsomuch.
Love the dress and wrap — very elegant, and the monochromatic look is lovely with her coloring. Much more attractive than blah black number she wore for Golden Globes.
Who does she think she’s kidding? She’s had more work than Joan Rivers. Lift, tuck, you name it. What a lying hypocrite!
I wouldn’t take issue with the plastic surgery if were, indeed, only simple matter of “women wanting to feel better about themselves”. Underscoring this need look good are a plethora of esteem issues that plague some of these women for their entire lives. They might as well be hacking into weeds while they’re hacking into their faces because that’s the depth with which they seem to be attempting to deal with their issues. Furthermore, their aformentioned sef-worth is further compromised by relentless criticism and scrutiny which all of us have an hand in promoting. It’s a convoluted problem and it’s too reductive to say, oh, it’s ok if you want a different face.
Ms. Mirren’s attire is the absolute bomb! For a woman of her maturity, she really knows how to look “very festive” as well as “classy” at the same time. She would certainly be the “belle of any ball”. It’s refreshing when an older woman feels confident enough to dress with a tasteful flare without looking as though she’s pathetically trying to recapture her youth. You go, Helen Mirren!
My mother is a couple of years younger than her and people are constantly asking her if she’s had some work done but she’s never had
I don’t think she’s had work done; if you take care of yourself you can look good at that age too. I wish I look as good as my mother when I get her age.
Maybe she should meet Heidi Montag, it might change her opinion. I would like to see Mirren and Streep do a picture together, I bet they’d be a great team.
Everyone was given their own particular face when they were conceived- its the only one you’ll ever really have, it tries it’s best for you and it’s part of what makes you who you are. I feel so horrible for the many people, particularly women, who’ve been taught to hate the way they look and perceive themselves as inadequate or even ugly. Nature gave you what you have, for free, so you could go forth and be yourself and learn to deal etc.
If you feel the need to mutilate that because you’re too neurotic/vain/stupid to function otherwise, see a shrink, not a plastic surgeon, FFS. Don’t be a dumbarse.
Plastic Surgery gets a bad wrap because people understandably notice all the terrible work the most.
The good plastic surgery is everywhere you just don’t notice it (unless it’s someone close to you I guess)
Are you f*****g kidding me???
She looks FANTASTIC in that dress! (the upswept hairdo isn’t too shabby either)
As for the rape comments – grow UP, people! Her words were taken COMPLETELY out of context. Please please PLEASE read the entire GQ interview dealing with this topic -hopefully it’ll clear things up once and for all.
ROFLing at the poster who claims Helen had more work done. Sweetie, Helen may have had a facelift here and there but, NO ONE in the entire civilized world has had more work done that Joan Rivers. Notice how Helen can still make complex facial expressions while Joan can barely crack a smile without her skin stretching like a rubber band? That’s a MAJOR clue.