Helen Mirren proved age is no barrier to glamour as she stole the spotlight at Paris Fashion Week on Monday night. The Oscar-winning actress, who turned 80 in July, dazzled in a sparkling silver long-sleeve top, paired with chic black gloves and tailored trousers as she proudly walked the L’Oréal catwalk outside Paris City Hall.
Her triumphant entrance saw her beam with confidence as she joined fellow stars Kendall Jenner and Cara Delevingne in the show, aptly titled “Liberty. Equality. Sisterhood. Because You’re Worth It.”
Speaking about ageing, Helen admitted the hardest part isn’t the number, but the way society treats older people. “The hardest part is the condescension. It really annoys me,” she explained. Recalling a stroll with her husband, director Taylor Hackford, also 80, she said: “If we’re holding hands, someone might say, ‘Oh, look. How sweet.’ It’s like, excuse my language, f**k off. They think they’re being kind but they’re not. They’re being insulting.”
Reflecting on her milestone birthday, Helen remembered her late mother’s advice: “She told me never to be afraid of getting older. Every stage of life has its own great things. At 18, 35 looks scary, but when you get there, you realise it’s better than being 18. The same happens at 55. You lose some things but gain others. That’s been true for me.”
Currently, Mirren is starring in The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman’s bestselling novel adaptation about a group of retirees turned detectives. She leads the cast as Elizabeth, a razor-sharp ex-spy, alongside Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie.