It doesn’t matter how old we are, we all have a desire to look our best. It may not be the easiest thing to do, but will we see somebody doing it with style, it really takes us by surprise.
78-year-old Dame Helen Mirren is somebody who knows how to be stylish and graceful. In the 1970s, you would rarely ever see a red carpet event where she wasn’t a big part of it.
Audiences were absolutely thrilled with the way that she looked back then, but now she is getting some attention again with the way that she looks at the age of 78. It all started when bikini photos were shared after she was on vacation in Italy.
Helen Mirren, who was 63 years old in 2008 shared the bikini photo shoot with the public. It went viral and she became somewhat of a sex symbol for older individuals at the time.
Many people would’ve been flattered by this attention, but she said that she thinks it will haunt her for the rest of her life. She admits that she was just trying to look good for her husband, which is what it all started.
She said: “So we were there, swimming a little bit, lying in the sun, and Taylor said, ’Stand up, I want to take a picture of you.’ So I stood up and sucked my tummy in because my husband was taking my photo. I tried to suck my cheeks in. I tried to look good.”
The fame that happened as a result of the viral pictures offered some opportunities for her. She had some business prospects but she didn’t want to capitalize on the photo.
Her nephew, however, had a different take on the event. He had begged her to make them all millionaires by marketing bikinis after everybody went wild over her fit body. She said that she wasn’t interested in branding herself like that.
She continues to challenge the age differences that are often so prevalent in today’s society. This includes having longer hair, which is often frowned upon for older individuals.
The last time that she had long hair was in her 20s but she likes how it looks and she decided to keep it. She said: “I thought, do you know what, it’s pretty cool, I think I’ll stick with it for a little while. It will come off eventually…but I’m kind of enjoying it, it’s quite radical.”
She also is thrilled to be representing women over 60 and has been vocal about the issues revolving beauty standards for older women. She says that ageism is been a problem for far too long and she is frustrated about beauty products being marketed by 15-year-old models.
When you get right down to it, she is just interested in looking her best and doing what she can to help fight the stereotypes in older women are not worthy of such attention. I would say she is doing a good work.