Helen Mirren. A True Calendar Girl Quiz

Answer: Russian

Helen was born to Kathleen and Vasily Mironoff in 1945. Kathleen, usually known as "Kitty" was a London born Englishwoman and Vasily was a Russian born cab driver who had been brought to UK by his father when aged two. He also played the viola with the London Philharmonic Orchestra before WWII, and during the war, he put his cab driving skills to good use as an ambulance driver.
Vasily changed his name to Basil following the war, and in 1951, when Helen was six years old, changed the family name to Mirren.

Answer: Teeth 'n' Smiles

Mirren played the part of Maggie Frisby in this outstanding play set in a time when we thought rock 'n' roll would change the world. Although the play isn't actually based on the life of Janis Joplin, Dame Helen has said that she adopted Joplin's mannerisms and her outlook on life in order to play the role. Talking about the role, Mirren said in "Time Out" magazine in 1975, "When I was first offered the part I was so scared. I've never wanted to play a part so much since I played my first part when I was seven years old. Of course I felt scared about the singing, I love singing but I can't sing." She certainly pulled it off though, and in response to her worries, Nick Bicat, music director for the production, said she can sing "because she's herself and very brave".

Answer: Goldfinger

The mother of former "Vogue" cover girl, Mallet was sister to Dame Helen's father, Vasily Mironoff.
Mellet had auditioned for the "Bond" movie, "From Russia With Love" (1963), to play the part of Tatiana Romanova, but was unsuccessful, despite her Russian heritage, due to her strong English accent.
The part was given to Italian actress, Daniela Bianchi, although the voice for Romanova was provided by English actress, Barbara Jefford.
In "Goldfinger" (1964), Mallet played Tilly Masterson, who met an untimely end when she was killed by the steel rimmed hat of Bond villain, Oddjob.
This was Mallet's only recognised acting role and she declined the offers of further roles after discovering the weekly wage of an up and coming actress was equal to her daily wage as a top model.

Answer: Winchester

The movie is based on the life of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester gun company. Following the deaths of her husband and daughter, she believes herself to be cursed and employs a medium to try and discover why this would be so.
The film was nominated for four Razzie awards, including worst picture, worst director and worst actress and it wasn't just the Golden Raspberry awards that didn't like this movie. Other reviewers called it dull, toothless, pointless, a complete mess and just plain bad.

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II

Having already won an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for portraying Her Majesty, Mirren added a Tony for her wonderful acting in this Peter Morgan play.
The play concerns the weekly meeting that takes place between the monarch and her prime minister and covers the prime ministers between Sir Winson Churchill in 1952 and Gordon Brown in 2010.
Mirren won a Tony award for the Broadway run of the play, but had, two years earlier in 2013, won her first Olivier award for the West End production of the show.
"The Audience" is mentioned several times in the credits of hit Netflix show, "The Crown" (from 2016) as providing inspiration for particular episodes.

Answer: The Long Good Friday

"The Long Good Friday" (1980) is a gangster film which consistently appears near the top of any list of great British films. Hoskins plays the part of an ambitious London gangster with a menacing on screen presence while Mirren plays the part of Victoria, his girlfriend from the opposite end of the social spectrum.
Hoskins went on to win acclaim for his roles in "Mona Lisa" (1986), "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988) and for playing the wonderful Smee alongside Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman in "Hook" (1991).
When Hoskins died in 2014, Helen Mirren said in a tribute to him "London will miss one of her best and most loving sons".

Answer: Caligula

Mirren has stated that she enjoyed every moment of filming "Caligula" (1979) describing the experience as "It was like showing up for a nudist camp every day".
"Caligula" (1979) starred Malcolm McDowell in the title role and also featured Peter O'Toole as Tiberius and John Gielgud as Nerva, and although not especially well received at the time, is now seen as a cult classic.

Answer: Antony And Cleopatra

The National Theatre's production of "Antony and Cleopatra" in 1998 was probably the most anticipated show of the year, given that it starred Mirren and Rickman, but it soon became the biggest disappointment of the year.
The "Daily Telegraph" was of the opinion that "the crucial sexual chemistry is fatally absent.", while also saying that although Mirren's performance was adequate, Rickman was "thoroughly un-engaging and at times downright lazy".
Other reviewers were less kind, with the "Evening Standard" comparing the sexual chemistry between Mirren and Rickman to, "a pair of glumly non-mating pandas at London Zoo, being coaxed to do their duty." and "The Times" reporting that Rickman as Antony "left me feeling that Eeyore had been miscast as Tigger".
Luckily the public flocked to see the UK's sexiest over 50s and the show sold out for its entire 54 performances.

Answer: Ray

Mirren who had lived with fellow actor Liam Neeson when younger, had always vowed to never marry, but Taylor Hackford must have displayed that special something to change her mind.
The pair met on the set of "White Nights" (1985), a movie which he was directing and in which she was starring, alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov and Isabella Rossellini.
Prior to "Ray" (2004), Hackford was best known for directing "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982), starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger.
He was Oscar nominated for "Ray", which told the story of Ray Charles, but was beaten to the award by Clint Eastwood for "Million Dollar Baby" (2004).

Answer: Naturism

She is certainly no stranger to being nude, having won Naturist of the Year in 2004, and saying that "I am my happiest on a nude beach with people of all ages and races!"
I suppose that having a good body must increase the confidence one needs for naturism, so being voted "Sexiest Woman Alive" when aged 65 in 2010 by "Esquire" magazine should come as no real surprise.
In return, Mirren posed nude for the magazine, draped only in a Union Jack flag.