Helen Mirren Pictures Show Actress As Fresh-Faced 25-Year-Old

Helen Mirren is one of the distinguished actresses in Hollywood, a respected and award-winning 68 year old.

Though she’s known for her classy good looks now, pictures that emerged of a 25-year-old Helen Mirren shows an actress who The Huffington Post terms “a total babe.”

The news outlet dug up a series of photos showing Mirren as a young stage actress. The black-and-white photos show Mirren in what appears to be an acting headshot, with another shot of Mirren in costume from her role in the Royal Shakespeare Company performance of Troilus and Cressida in 1968.

Mirren hasn’t lost much with age. A famous picture snapped during a beach vacation in 1968 shows the 60-something Mirren rocking a two-piece swimsuit. The picture spread quickly, calling attention to Mirren’s incredibly fit figure.

A couple of years later, Mirren would say the image “haunted” her and created a standard impossible to live up to.

“I think the thing that will haunt me for the rest of my life is that bloody photograph of myself in a bikini,” she said in 2011. “In and of itself, it is a lie because I don’t actually look like that and I know that that is going to haunt me forever and I’ll be forever trying to bury it unsuccessfully.”

But like it or not, Helen Mirren is still seen as an icon within the acting world. Earlier this summer she was picked by clothing chain Marks & Spencer for a “leading ladies” campaign that highlighted women on top of their respective fields. The campaign included a photo spread by famed photographer Annie Liebovitz.

“As women pass the age of 45 it doesn’t mean they’re not interested in fashion anymore,” Mirren said. “You don’t have to start looking like a granny.”

More photos of the 25-year-old Helen Mirren can be seen here.