Here Are 13 of Helen Mirren’s Best Roles

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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.

Helen Mirren best roles
Caligula, Caesonia, 1979Penthouse
Helen Mirren best roles
Excalibur, Morgana, 1981Warner Bros.
Helen Mirren best roles
Cal, Marcella, 1984Warner Bros.
Helen Mirren best roles
Prime Suspect, Jane Tennison, 1991-2006Matthew Ford—Granada Television
Helen Mirren best roles
The Madness of King George, Queen Charlotte, 1994Samuel Goldwyn Company
Helen Mirren best roles
Gosford Park, Mrs. Wilson, 2002Focus Features
Helen Mirren best roles
Calendar Girls, Chris, 2003Touchstone Pictures
Helen Mirren best roles
Elizabeth I, Elizabeth I, 2005HBO
Helen Mirren best roles
The Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, 2006Granada Productions
Helen Mirren best roles
The Last Station, Sofya, 2010Stephan Rabold—Sony Pictures
Helen Mirren best roles
Hitchcock, Alma Reville, 2012Suzanne Tenner—Montecito Picture Company
Helen Mirren best roles
The Hundred-Foot Journey, Madame Mallory, 2014Francois Duhamel—Touchstone Pictures
Helen Mirren best roles
Woman in Gold, Maria Altmann, 2015Robert Viglasky—BBC Films

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