Helen Mirren pens memoir

The Oscar winning actress talks about her new book “In the Frame,” her mother and what a palm reader predicted for her

Helen Mirren took Hollywood by storm when she took on an Emmy Award, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award all in one year. The international super star took on the challenge of playing two of Britain’s most iconic figures, Elisabeth I and Elisabeth II. And now the 62-year-old is taking on the past again, telling her own life story. Helen Mirren’s book is In the Frame, My Life in Words and Pictures.

Helen, good morning to you.

Good morning.

And I have to say, first of I learned in the book right away, Helen Mirren is not your real name.

Well, actually it is my real name. But, em, you know, well, I was born with the name of Mironov. So, officially I guess I would be Mironov now, because my father was born in Russia.

Which I didn’t realize (is) your paternal side, your grandfather actually was in the military during the Tsar. He came to England to purchase arms and live. (Absolutely) Russian Revolution breaks out; he’s suddenly a refugee and your dad was born in England.

Yes, well, no, my dad was actually..(was already born) was born in Russia. But he came at the age of two or three with my grandparents to England. So absolutely I’m half Russian, I would say it’s, my bottom half is Russian. Ha

Why the bottom half?

Well, you know, good old Russian peasants stopped down there, somewhere.

Talk to me about your childhood, because your dad was a cab driver (Yes) and your mom was sort of a reluctant homemaker who wanted more for her girls.

Yes, my mom was, is a very early feminist I guess. You know. The, you know, the issue of marriage and never came in up in our family. You know. "Oh, don’t worry, darling, you’ll get married and a man will take care of you." That was never promoted as a, as a sort of life choice. Our life choice was always, you must make your own money, you must have your own money, you must be economically independent of any one. And where my mom got that from, I don't know, but, yes, I think she was a reluctant mother. She was a great mom and she was fun, and you know, she cooked if you think she didn’t get up in the morning. But she was a great mother, but I don’t know if she really, really wanted to be a mother. I think a lot of women don’t actually.

So, where did your love of acting come from?

I don’t, I don’t know. I mean, er, I think a perfect combination of my parents. My, certainly one of my ancestors in Russia started one of the earliest theaters in Russia. It was a surf theater on Neri state. That was sort of like 300 hundred years ago. Em, so I had that in on my father side, or on my mother side, she was just a huge drama queen. So, you know.

And yet, you write in your book: "Even now my relationship with the audience is ambivalent. I’m vaguely embarrassed by the idea of being looked at."

Yes, yes, I just don't. Not all liked that to be looked at at all. They act sort of disappearance to something. And I think that is sort of the case…