Dame Helen Mirren has been honoured with the Cecil B DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at a special Golden Globes ceremony in Beverly Hills. The 80-year-old British actress became the 71st recipient of the accolade during the inaugural Golden Eve special, broadcast on US network CBS and streamed on Paramount+ ahead of this week's main ceremony.
Her 1923 co-star Harrison Ford presented the award, describing her as a “bad ass” and praising her “undeniable screen presence”. Ford, best known for playing Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise, bowed as he said: “I just want to sum up one of the greatest actresses of all time in a few seconds, I for one, bow to her talent.”
In her acceptance speech, Dame Helen said: “The DeMille Award was described to me as a career recognition. But I prefer to think of it as a life lived, a life survived, a life enjoyed, a life sweated, and a life carried on, hopefully. And given that hope, I prefer to think of this as an ongoing reflection of my career rather than a eulogy.”
Dame Helen won an Oscar in 2006 for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, and has collected three Golden Globes for her work in film and television. She is also an Emmy, SAG, Bafta and Tony-winning actor, and was made a dame in 2003 in recognition of her artistic achievements.
She joins a distinguished list of DeMille Award recipients dating back to 1952, including Sidney Poitier, Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand, Viola Davis, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks and Jeff Bridges. During Golden Eve, Sarah Jessica Parker was also honoured with the Carol Burnett Award for her career television achievements. The main Golden Globes ceremony takes place on January 11, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser.
