Mirren, 77, pushed back on the notion that aging woman should keep their hair short.
Dame Helen Mirren is an English actress known for her roles in The Queen, 1923, Red, The Good Liar, Prime Suspect, The Duke, Calender Girls, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Woman in Gold.
In a recent appearance on Lorraine on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, The Queen star said she started growing her hair during the Covid-19 lockdown and thinks her long hair is ‘radical.’
“You’re not supposed to have longer hair after a certain age,” Helen said.
“But during Covid, I started growing my hair and I hadn’t actually had long hair since I was in my 20s. And it sort of grew and grew and grew, and I couldn’t be bothered to cut it, basically,” she continued. “I thought, do you know what, it’s pretty cool, I think I’ll stick with it for a little while. It will come off eventually.”
“But I’m kind of enjoying it, it’s quite radical.”
The award-winning actress added that she loves flying the flag for women over 60 because life does not stop as you grow old.
“Life doesn’t stop. And creativity doesn’t stop and passion doesn’t stop and energy doesn’t stop, unless you decide to stop it. So it’s just be self-motivated, really, and never give up. And find enjoyment, if it’s possible in your life.”
The Red alum has abandoned her signature bob haircut for long platinum waves.
In 2019, Mirren spoke to Grazia Magazine for an interview and said that her generation had been the subject of ‘ageism’ for far too long.
“It’s extremely annoying to women of my generation and others following mine to have beauty products sold on a 15-year-old face.”
She added that she doesn’t like using the term ‘beauty’ because it makes people insecure about their looks feel ‘immediately excluded.’
“They’ll think, ‘Well, I’m not very beautiful. It’s all very well for all these beautiful women, but I don’t feel beautiful’,” she said.
“I don’t want to exclude these people from feeling fabulous about themselves.”
The statements came after Helen broke her finger while performing a stunt on the set of Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
After the incident, the Prime Suspect alum said she didn’t complain after getting hurt because she wanted to feel like a real “stunty” person.
“I was incredibly brave and didn’t say anything or complain because I wanted to be a real “stunty” person,” she said on The Graham Norton Show.
Speaking of the film’s plot, Helen said, “Don’t ask me about the plot, it’s too complicated!”
“We are angry goddesses wearing unbelievably heavy costumes. It was very hot and uncomfortable and in fact Lucy (Liu) said at the end of the first day’s shooting, ”They are trying to kill us” in all seriousness.”
“I wanted to do it because I loved the first Shazam. It was sweet and funny. I am not a big superhero type person, but I loved the idea of it and happily signed up for the second one. It is great.”
Let us know your views in the comments.
Source: Lorraine
I love long hair if I could, I would brush it for you wash it for you and help you take care of it. I’m an older guy and I take a class at the YMCA and all the ladies there don’t have hair below their neck. They’re nice ladies, but it saddens me lol my mother kept her hair short until her final years, when she let it grow long long silver hair she was beautiful just my two cents have a great day ladies
My hair is long and is beige/blonde (as naturally grey now). I grew mine through Covid so it wasn’t a choice but now I don’t know what to do as I wear it up all the time I wonder if it would be easier short but only because of feeling I’m too old to wear it long. I am 73 this year!!!! Helen has made me feel happier since she said ok for our ages.
My mother is 70+. She has beautiful long hair cascading down her back like a beautiful flowing waterful. It was red when she was younger but has since turned a beautiful white (or what I teasingly call, Florida Blonde).
She is stopped daily by people commenting on her hair. I am proud of her for doing what she likes, not what is the norm.