Dame Helen Mirren has revealed that she used to 'hate' her appearance because it was not considered 'fashionable' during her youth. The Oscar-winning actress, now 72, admitted that being labelled a sex symbol made her self-conscious, particularly as a different aesthetic was popular at the time.
Reflecting on her younger self, Mirren told Allure magazine: 'I could see why - when I got far enough back from my young self - they called me sexy in those days. I fell into the cliche of sexiness: blonde hair, t*ts, waist, which I hated at the time because it was not fashionable. You had to be thin and have a cigarette and only wear black. And I just never fit into that look.'
The actress noted that her twenties coincided with the rise of model Twiggy, saying 'I did not look like a twig.' She criticised her own appearance, claiming her cheeks were 'too fat', legs too short and breasts 'too big'.
When asked who she now considers sexy, Mirren cited her 'The Debt' co-star Jessica Chastain, explaining: 'It's an interior power that comes from her intelligence. When intelligence is combined with beauty, it's extraordinary... (like) Natalie Portman.' However, she struggled to define beauty itself, believing 90 per cent of women do not fit the traditional bill. Instead she prefers words like mesmerising, attractive and interesting.
Mirren concluded that beauty is 'inside' and that labelling people with the word can cause more damage than positivity. 'When it's tied to pictures of people and amazing outfits on girls who can wear that stuff, it's intimidating for the rest of us,' she said.
