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Helen Mirren: ‘Women still have to struggle’

The 69-year-old actress reveals her struggle in Hollywood and why she is willing to stand up for women.
Oscar winner, Dame Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren.

Helen Mirren appears on the cover of the August issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly, and is set to grace silver screens around the country in the upcoming Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey-produced The Hundred Foot Journey.

But the actress is not just known for her remarkable roles in films. She’s also a strong, clever and determined figure that women look up to.

“I see myself as someone who is willing to stand up for women and defending our place in society since we do represent half the population,” she says in this month’s Weekly. “Even though things have improved, women still have to struggle to maintain our place.”

The Oscar-winning star says she experienced a similar struggle when she was establishing herself as an actress.

“I found out very quickly that a lot of men didn’t appreciate an assertive woman who had her own ideas.  That’s why I’m so grateful to my parents for teaching me to be very independent and not to become reliant on men financially or otherwise,” says Helen.

“When I first arrived in Hollywood, it was totally dominated by men and women have come a very long way since then in this business,” she reveals in The Weekly. “There are more good parts being written for women now and although we still have some way to go it’s remarkable to see how much things have progressed and I’m happy to have witnessed that change.”

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