(Photo: Simon Emmett for L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect)
She has already earned herself the status of a national treasure in Britain (oh, and a Damehood), but now the much-loved Helen Mirren joins celebrities less than half her age, including Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, 31, Lara Stone, 30, Beyoncé Knowles, 33, and Blake Lively, 27, as the remarkably fresh face of L’Oréal Paris.
Prior to Helen, the only ambassadors for the brand of comparable age are Jane Fonda, 76 and Diane Keaton, 68.
The 69-year-old actress, who has been with her husband - film producer Taylor Hackford - for more than 28 years, is at the forefront of a new breed of women showing it is possible to maintain looks, vitality and energy levels to go on working whatever your age.
Despite this, the naturally modest Helen insists: "I am not gorgeous and I never was, but I was always ok-looking and I’m keen to stay that way."
Speaking of her new role, she said "I have always loved the L’Oréal Paris brand, and I am truly delighted to become an ambassador and join such an impressive group of high-achievers. I hope I can inspire other women towards greater confidence by making the most of their natural good looks. We are all worth it!"
This addition to the family is a smart move by the brand, as the they have conducted surveys involving more than 9,000 people who repeatedly ranked Dame Helen top as the woman who appealed most to consumers. Those surveyed described her as genuine, intelligent and glamorous, with looks that seem only to improve with the passing of time.
Elen Macaskill, the general manager at L’Oréal Paris, describes Helen as: "brilliant, irreverent, beautiful, sexy and quintessentially British."
We've come over all patriotic.
