Helen Mirren has never been one to sugarcoat her feelings, and now the 80-year-old actress is calling out a label for older women that she finds downright insulting. With her trademark wit, she says she’s done being described with condescending words that don’t reflect the reality of who she is today.
Mirren Calls Out Patronizing Labels About Aging
(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)“One thing that I find galling as I get older is the sort of patronizing condescension: ‘Oh, that’s so sweet,’” Mirren told People in an interview published August 20. “I hate the word feisty. I’m alive. Don’t give me those sort of awful labels.”
The “Thursday Murder Club” actress added that she also dislikes being called a “young spirit.” Recalling one interview where someone used the phrase, Mirren admitted, “What did I say? F–k off? My spirit is the age that I am.”
Why She No Longer Celebrates Birthdays
(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)While Mirren has embraced the process of growing older, she admitted she no longer marks her birthdays with traditional celebrations. “Honestly, I don’t celebrate birthdays. I don’t recognize them because life just rolls on,” she explained. “I expect to be very, very nicely treated on my birthday. That’s all I want. Cup of tea in bed in the morning.”
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)The actress said her outlook on aging has always been rooted in acceptance.
Wisdom Learned From Her Mother
(Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)Mirren credits her mother for shaping her approach to aging with one simple piece of advice: never fear it.
“My mother said the greatest thing to me: ‘Never be afraid of getting older,’” she shared. “Of course, when you’re 18, middle age is like a foreign country. It’s so far away from you. But, you know, when you arrive in that country, you realize that country has great things. Maybe you like that country better than the country you left behind.”
(Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)In a past interview with E! News, she echoed that sentiment. “It’s nature, it’s what happens. And, as they say, along with getting older comes a certain kind of wisdom, a certain kind of understanding of that fact.”
Redefining Life Beyond Retirement
(Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)For Mirren, aging does not mean stepping back from life. She believes retirement should never be equated with irrelevance.
“People who are retired have had extraordinary, productive, challenging, difficult, professional lives, and they’re not finished. It doesn’t suddenly screech to a halt,” she said.
She also pointed out how younger generations often misunderstand the lives of older people. “Younger people cannot comprehend the fact that the older generation had sex, had fun, danced, were obsessed with their hair and their weight. And of course, the older people are looking at them and going, ‘You know what? We’ve done that. We’ve been there,’” Mirren said.
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Helen Mirren Gets Refreshingly Honest About Life at 80 & Aging With Grace