Dame Helen Mirren has some advice for the daughter(s) that she never had. The actress talked about sexism in the entertainment industry in an interview with Daily Mail, saying that her hypothetical daughters should be more assertive than she was.
"If I'd had children and had a girl, the first words I would have taught her would have been 'f*** off' because we weren't brought up ever to say that to anyone, were we?
"And it's quite valuable to have the courage and the confidence to say, 'No, f*** off, leave me alone, thank you very much. You see, I couldn't help saying 'Thank you very much,' I just couldn't help myself."
The 67-year-old has often spoken boldly about sexism in Hollywood, not caring much what people think.
Mirren previously said in a TV interview in 1975 that she was objectified by the British press for her looks and was subjected to sexist comments in her early years as an actress.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" she said to TV host Michael Parkinson. "You just had to put up with it. It was tough when I was younger; it was like an albatross on my back but I just found a way to navigate it. I thought, 'They can think what they like and I'll show them through the work that I do,' which is what I did.""
Decades later, the British actress has earned two Oscars, four BAFTAS, three Golden Globes and Four Emmy Awards, including two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards. She received a damehood for her work at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace in 2003 and was awarded a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2013.
