Dame Helen Mirren Grabs People’s Most Beautiful Cover

People's 2022 Beautiful Issue is here, and Dame Helen Mirren is this year’s cover star!

The 76-year-old shared her reaction to the news, saying, "I was absolutely sort of gobstruck, as we say in England. I never considered myself 'beautiful.' And [at] my age! So I was amazed.”

The Oscar winner insisted, "Don't get me wrong — I love beauty and I love looking at beautiful things. But I don't like the word ‘beauty’ [as it's] associated with the beauty industry — makeup and products, skincare, and all the rest of it — because I think it excludes the vast majority of us who are not beautiful."

Helen, who is a L'Oreal Paris spokesperson, explained “Beautiful people are a wonder to behold," adding, "But most of us are not beautiful. We have other stuff, which is just as powerful as beauty. And I would like to see us celebrate those things … I love the word ‘swagger’ because I think ‘swagger’ means I'm confident in myself, I'm presenting myself to the world, I'm enjoying the world around me. I think what is called the beauty industry should be called the swagger industry. We're giving people swagger."

Her famous friend and “F9” co-star Vin Diesel attested to her beauty, sharing, "What makes Dame Helen Mirren so beautiful? I'll tell you. She has a charisma that is timeless. She has looks to kill and always has. She has a jovial spirit. But I think the thing that is most attractive about Dame Helen Mirren is the way she makes you feel. She always makes you feel appreciated and loved. And for that, I Iove her forever."

Mirren is in high demand these days, starring in several upcoming project tha include “Golda,” “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” and “White Bird: A Wonder Story.”

The superstar confessed she still gets nervous about new films. "I get very nervous about the day-to-day process. And meeting and dealing with new people. And not knowing whether I am going to remember my lines or not. I just get very frightened until I get into the swing of things and then I kind of relax."

Once she’s wrapped a movie, she said, the anxiousness melts away. "Once it's done, I'm not nervous, because it's done, you can't pull it back. It's the doing of it that I get nervous about."