Dame Helen Mirren recognised by King in Birthday Honours list

The 80-year-old actress was made a Companion of Honour for services to drama.

There are only 65 Companions of Honour at any one time.

Dame Helen, from London, has visited Oxford to perform and film, famously starring as a former Oxford history professor in the 2019 crime thriller The Good Liar.

The actress, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 film The Queen, received the honour just days after footage circulated on social media showing her being verbally abused while walking in central London with her husband.

The footage, which was filmed last year, showed the 80-year-old being called an “evil Zionist” as she walked in a street in Tower Hill in London with her husband, American film director Taylor Hackford.

She was previously made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2003 for her services to drama.

She boasts a prolific acting career spanning over five decades, with her first major credit in 1969’s Age of Consent.

Dame Helen also featured in the 2003 film Calendar Girls, a heartwarming true-story comedy about a women’s group creating a nude calendar to raise money for charity.

She is the recipient of several accolades including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards, five Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, two Cannes Film Festival Awards, a Volpi Cup and a Laurence Olivier Award.