Helen Mirren says she hates being called 'beautiful' and would prefer something more age appropriate

The 70-year-old actress says "of course" she looked better when she was younger

Helen Mirren says she hates the word 'beautiful' (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)

Helen Mirren says she hates the word ‘beautiful’ and would prefer to be called something else more appropriate for her age.

In an interview with the Guardian, when asked if she feels beautiful, Mirren said: “I hate that word. Kate Moss is beautiful, so is David Beckham, and I can appreciate a beautiful girl walking down the street.”

“Young is beautiful. But the majority of us are something else, and I wish there was another word for it,” she said.

Mirren, 70, believes that “of course” she looked better when she was younger, but says: “The great thing that happens as you age is that you don’t really give a flying f***. I don’t look so good, but I don’t care.”

Mirren, who says it’s “f*****g obvious” she’s a feminist, recently criticised men who sling their arm “round their girlfriend’s shoulders” as it looks like “ownership”.

She also spoke of the “profound sexism” of older women in the film industry but said until things change for women “in real life”; things won’t change within the industry.

Mirren’s comments echo many fellow actresses who have criticised the way older women are treated in the film industry.

Liv Tyler, 38, recently said she feels “like a second class citizen” in Hollywood as the roles she now gets offered only tend to be to play the “the wife or girlfriend”.

Earlier this year Maggie Gyllenhaal, 37, revealed she was considered too old to play the love interest of a 55-year-old actor.