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:

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