Helen Mirren, 77, Fires Back At Stereotype That Older Women ‘Shouldn’t’ Have Long Hair’

The 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' star opened up about growing her hair out during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing that she was enjoying her 'radical' new look.

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Helen Mirren dismissed the idea that older women shouldn’t have long hair during an interview on ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday, March 8. The actress, 77, said that she’s been loving having long hair, since growing it out throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. While Helen admitted she’d probably cut it eventually, it certainly looks beautiful.

Helen stuns with a long hair at the ‘Mother And Son’ premiere in May 2022. (Shutterstock)

When the interviewer asked Helen about her hair and complimented her on it, The Queen actress brought up the stereotype about older women not having long hair, before sharing how she started growing it out. “You’re not supposed to have longer hair after a certain age,” she said. “During COVID, I started growing my hair, and I hadn’t actually had long hair since I was actually in my 20s, and it grew and grew and grew, and I couldn’t be bothered to cut it basically.”

As she continued, she spoke about how much she’s been enjoying the new look. “I thought, you know what, it’s pretty cool. I think I’ll stick with it for a little while, and so, it will come off eventually, but I’m kind of enjoying it,” she said. “It’s quite radical.”

As the end of the interview, the broadcaster spoke about how Helen has continually been an inspiration for women to keep working as they’ve gotten older, and Helen shared her thoughts. “Life doesn’t stop, and creativity doesn’t stop, and passion doesn’t stop, and energy doesn’t stop, unless you decide to stop it,” the Gosford Park star said. “It’s just to be self-motivated, really, and never give up, and find enjoyment, if it’s possible in your life.”

Helen is seen with her long hair. (Marco Provvisionato/ipa-agency/Shutterstock)

Helen continued and said that with age, she also gained much more understanding about the hardships that so many people face, and how that factored into her philosophy. “As you get older, you understand the struggles that people go through, either physical struggles or financial struggles, and life is tough. Very demanding,” she said. “Therefore, all the more to maintain your energy as far as you can and maintain your health as far as you can.”