Actress Helen Mirren was born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff on 26 July 1945 in London. 

Her father fled Russia after the 1917 revolution and fought Oswald Mosley's fascists in the streets of London. 

Helen Mirren has gained critical acclaim as an actress in theatre, film and television. 

Helen Mirren was a member of the National Youth Theatre and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1967 and has consistently appeared on the stage since. In 2003 Helen Mirren acted in the well-received, Mourning Becomes Electra. 

Helen Mirren made her film debut in Herostratus in 1967 which was followed in 1969 with roles in Sir Peter Hall's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Michael Powell's Age of Consent. 

Mirren's other films include The Long Good Friday (1979), Cal (1984), The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover (1989), The Madness of King George (1994) and Gosford Park (2001). For her roles in these last two films, Helen Mirren received Oscar nominations. She also received an Emmy for the title role in The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999). 

However Helen Mirren is best known for her television role as Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison in the occasional TV police drama Prime Suspect, which won BAFTA television awards in 1991 and 1993 for best drama serial. 

In 1997 Helen Mirren married Taylor Hackford, but has declared: "I'm very proud of being childless. It's my contribution to world ecology." 

Helen Mirren was made a Dame in 2003.

Credit: biogs.com