Hollywood legend Dame Helen Mirren, has recently made headlines for her candid remarks about embracing nudity and the liberating experiences it offers.

During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mirren was informed that she topped a list of celebrity nudists, and her reaction was one of genuine enthusiasm.

“That’s great!” she exclaimed, delighting in the acknowledgment.

While she clarified that she wasn’t a regular participant in nudist camps, she described the few occasions when she found herself naked on a beach or among a group of like-minded individuals as “a fabulously liberating experience.”

The Oscar-winning actress went on to explain how the communal vulnerability of nudity eliminates the pressures associated with conventional beauty standards.

“The whole construct of what it means to be a human being in terms of your earrings, your lipstick, your shirt, your age … everything falls away!” she said.

“And you become a different kind of human being, a human being that’s not related to anything physical. It’s a very lovely thing.”

The Queen actress’s inclusion in the list of celebrity nudists was not surprising, as she has openly discussed her fondness for naturism in the past.

In a 2019 radio interview, she described her experiences on nude beaches, stating, “it becomes very, very sweet—very human in a rather beautiful way. I’m proudly a naturist.”

Mirren also commented on how naturism brings people together, emphasising that it goes beyond appearances and embraces individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of conventional ideas of beauty or age.

“Ugly people, beautiful people, old people, whatever,” she told Radio Times.

“It’s so unisexual and so liberating.”

However, Mirren’s openness to nudity goes beyond personal experiences. A few times throughout her career, she’s had to appear naked on-screen.

In the 1979 film Caligula, in which the majority of the cast appeared nude, Mirren said “Everyone was naked in that.”

She said “It was like showing up for a nudist camp every day. You felt embarrassed if you had your clothes on in that movie.”

Now, at the age of 77, Mirren has decided to savour the joy of nudity in her personal life rather than on camera.

“That’s the good thing about getting older,” she said.

“You don’t have to do that sort of thing anymore… [Now] my pleasure pillows are purely for my husband.”

In addition to her candidness about embracing nudity, Mirren has been an outspoken advocate for breaking beauty stereotypes, consistently challenging societal norms and promoting positive ageing.