-
1 of 13Caligula, Caesonia, 1979Penthouse -
2 of 13Excalibur, Morgana, 1981Warner Bros. -
3 of 13Cal, Marcella, 1984Warner Bros. -
4 of 13Prime Suspect, Jane Tennison, 1991-2006Matthew Ford—Granada Television -
5 of 13The Madness of King George, Queen Charlotte, 1994Samuel Goldwyn Company -
6 of 13Gosford Park, Mrs. Wilson, 2002Focus Features -
7 of 13Calendar Girls, Chris, 2003Touchstone Pictures -
8 of 13Elizabeth I, Elizabeth I, 2005HBO -
9 of 13The Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, 2006Granada Productions -
10 of 13The Last Station, Sofya, 2010Stephan Rabold—Sony Pictures -
11 of 13Hitchcock, Alma Reville, 2012Suzanne Tenner—Montecito Picture Company -
12 of 13The Hundred-Foot Journey, Madame Mallory, 2014Francois Duhamel—Touchstone Pictures -
13 of 13Woman in Gold, Maria Altmann, 2015Robert Viglasky—BBC Films
Few actors can boast a resume as impressive as Helen Mirren’s. The London-born dame has played a detective (Prime Suspect, two Emmy awards), Ayn Rand (Emmy win), prominent wives (in Hitchcock, about the director, and The Last Station, about Tolstoy) and several British queens: Charlotte in The Madness of King George (Oscar nomination), the title role in Elizabeth I (Golden Globe win) and Elizabeth II in The Queen (Oscar win).
Mirren, who turns 70 on Sunday, has a total nomination count of four Academy Awards, 13 Golden Globes and 11 Emmys. Here are 13 of her best film and television roles over the course of a fruitful (and, thankfully, ongoing) career. All hail the queen.
More Must-Read Stories From TIME
- Meet TIME’s Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
- After Visiting Both Ends of the Earth, I Realized How Much Trouble We’re In
- Google Is Making It Easier to Remove Personal Info From Search
- Oil Companies Posted Huge Profits. Here’s Where The Cash Will Go (Hint: Not Climate)
- Column: We Asked Hundreds of Americans About Abortion. Their Feelings Were Complicated
- A Short History of the Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the Marcos Family
- Long-Lasting Birth Control Is Already Hard to Get. Advocates Worry It May Only Get Worse
- Who Should Be on the 2022 TIME100? Vote Now
