University News | January 30, 2014

Helen Mirren Honored as Woman of the Year

The Academy Award-winning actress was at the center of the annual Hasty Pudding parade.

**Dame Helen Mirren** | Photograph by Harvard Magazine/LL

sporting a fluffy white hat and red lipstick, actress Helen Mirren paraded through Harvard Square this afternoon atop a white Bentley with members of Hasty Pudding Theatricals to be honored by the cross-dressing drama group as “Woman of the Year.” Mirren, best known for her Oscar-winning portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen and Emmy-winning role in the Prime Suspect television series, waved and smiled to an animated crowd gathered along Massachusetts Avenue before entering Farkas Hall, where she accepted her Pudding Pot.

She joins the ranks of such previous winners Claire Danes, Scarlett Johansson, Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway, Katharine Hepburn, and Meryl Streep.

Watch a short video of Mirren here:

&nbsp">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVjOmh8VZ5E] 

You might also like

Modern building surrounded by trees and a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.

Harvard will rename the building following a $100 million gift from Stuart Zimmer ’91.

Construction site featuring tall concrete structures, cranes, and a blue sky with clouds.

Pritzker Hall, designed for collaboration, should be complete in 2027.

Massachusetts Hall at Harvard Red brick building with a large clock on top, surrounded by green trees.

With a grade inflation vote and in the courts, the University argued that it’s taking steps to change.

Most popular

A blue refrigerator covered with animal pictures, notes, and drawings, surrounded by greenery.

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Three smiling individuals in business attire, standing outdoors with greenery in the background.

Meet Harvard’s 2026 Student Commencement Speakers

Two undergraduates and a Ph.D. candidate will address the graduating class on May 28.

Soccer player and goalkeeper Matt Freese standing in front of the net

The former economics concentrator brings his talent for crunching numbers to netminding.

Explore More From Current Issue

Black and white photo of Joseph Murray in a white lab coat sitting in an office.

Alumni Profiles

Nobel Prize recipient Joseph E. Murray dedicated much of his career to organ transplant surgery.

Racing driver gives a thumbs up from inside a car, wearing a helmet and safety gear.

Alumni Profiles

Harvard graduate and NASCAR racer Patrick Staropoli on pedals, attention, and fearlessness.

Label showing the anatomy of a worker bee, featuring a detailed illustration.

Museums & Collections

Science and art capture the microscopic natural world.