Note: this is a new series of History Switch articles profiling actors and their roles in historical film.

Helen Mirren was born July 26, 1945 in West London, the daughter of Russian musician Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov and Kathleen Alexcandrina Eva Matilda. Her paternal ancestors include Pyotr Vassilievich Mironov, a nobleman in Tsarist Russia, and Mikhail Kamensy, a hero of the Napoleonic War. Her mother’s father was the butcher to Queen Victoria.

Mirren begain stage acting as a young girl, and was accepted to the National Youth Theatre when she was 18. She then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and other repertory theaters in London, where she continues to act to this day. She began her equally successful film career in the 1970s , acting in a range of films from O Lucky Man! to Shadowboxer, winning many acting awards in the process. She is also well known for her role as female detecive Jane Tennison in the BBC’s drama Prime Suspect.

In 2006, she won the prestigious Critic’s Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, whose previous recipients included Peter Hall, Ian McKellen and Judi Dench.

Enjoy Helen Mirren as she travels through history by viewing her roles in these historical films:

Ancient Greece. A Midsummer Night’s Dream — Hermia. Hermia loves Lysander (David Warner), whom her father forbids her to marry, so they elope. Demetrius (Michael Jayston), who loves Hermia, follows them, and is in turn followed by Helena (Diana Rigg), as they romp through a night of adventures in the land of the Faeries.

30s. Caligula. — Caesonia. Third Roman Emperor (37-41AD), Caligula was the son of Germanicus, a popular military hero, and the nephew of the emperor Tiberius. While Caligula was initially welcomed as emperor upon Tiberius’ death, his sexual excesses and increasingly debauched lifestyle caused him to fall out of favor. Caesonia was the fourth (and last) wife of Caligula.

500s. Prince of Jutland/Royal Deceit — Geruth. Hamlet, a young prince, after discovering that his father has been murdered, vows to avenge the death and regain the crown. Mirren plays Gertrude (Geruth), his mother and the Queen of Denmark. Also starring Christian Bale, Gabriel Byrne, and Kate Beckinsale.

500s. Excalibur — Morgana. A retelling of the legend of King Arthur, with Gabriel Byrne as Uther Pendragon, Liam Neeson as Sir Gawain, and Nicol Williamson as Merlin. Morgana is Arthur’s half-sister and a sorceress.

1500s. Elizabeth I – Queen Elizabeth I. This HBO-special chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth I, with Jeremy Irons playing Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, her suspected lover.

1700s. Madness of King George — Queen Charlotte. An intriguing look at King George III (Nigel Hawthorne), the English monarch who lost the American colonies as he appears to be losing his mind. Co-starring Rupert Everett (Prince of Wales).

1930s. Gosford Park – Mrs. Wilson. A mystery set in the English countryside, Gosford Park pits the aristocrats against the "belowstairs" servants in Altman’s traditional English whodunit. Star-studded cast includes Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Clive Owen, and Maggie Smith.

1990s. The Queen — Queen Elizabeth II. An inside look at a moment that rocked the house of Windsor: the week that followed the sudden death of Princess Diana in 1997. Diana’s death came at just the same time that Prime Minister Tony Blair (played by the bright Michael Sheen) was settling into his new government–and trying to figure out the delicate relationship between 10 Downing Street and Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren).