Grandma Helen Mirren Shows Ginger Grandson - She Cried about Child-Free Choice Yet at 77 Has Big Family

Helen Mirren showed up to the premiere of her lastest film, "Shazam! Furry of the Gods," with her grandson as her date. The actress has always loved children, but decided not to have any of her own. At a point in her life, she struggled to grapple with her decision, but she found comfort in extending her extra love to her family.

Actress Helen Mirren attended the premiere of the latest film, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," and brought her grandson, Basil Mirren as her special guest.

The 77-year-old held her grandson's hands as they went to the flashing camera's on the red carpet. The film's leading man, Zachary Levi, and the rest of the film's cast also joined Mirren and her grandson as they posed for the cameras.

Both Mirren and her grandson were dressed for the occasion. The actress looked stunning in a long black lace dress with long sleeves and a ruffled skirt.

She let her long white hair down, kept it out of her face with a stylish black headband, and let the curly ends fall over her shoulders.

She also accessorized with a clutch small enough to fit the necessary things and finished off her glamorous look with large jeweled earrings. Her grandson wore a denim button-up shirt with black pants and black sneakers.

Mirren made sure to stay close to her grandson. She had a big smile on her face and comforted him with her arm around his shoulder.

Why Did Helen Vow Never to Marry and Later Sob about Being Childless?

Mirren has been in the film industry for years, and even at 77 years old, the actress shows no signs of stopping. She decided early on in her life not to marry or have children to focus on her career.

The actress was honest about consciously choosing her work over relationships; she had a deep love for theatre and wanted to live her life serving it.

In the same instance, Mirren was candid about questioning her decisions. She said she wondered why she delayed marriage and led a life with no children.

However, she understood that she concluded that because it felt like she had to choose, and frankly, her work was more important.

Her choice to not have children was not as certain as her vow to not marry, but Mirren said she was too focused on her own life and wondered if there was space for a child. So each year, she told herself "Oh maybe next year, maybe mext year, untill there was not next year."

Mirren had thought her investment in her career would be unfair to a child but she learned a different perspective about motherhood from the TV series "Parenthood."

The actress confessed that she sobbed for 20 minutes after watching the show because she learned that motherhood was not a once-off job but a role one took on for life and realized the same about being a grandmother.

At that moment, Mirren was heartbroken that she did not allow herself to experience being a mother and realized she would never get a chance to. "I sobbed for the loss of that and the fact that I never experienced it. Then I got over it and I was happy again," she expressed.

However, Mirren said she has always found children funny and kind but until the emotional outburst she had after watching "Parenthood," she never regretted her decision not to have children.

How Did Helen Marry Become Stepmom of Two Boys at 52?

Mirren might have believed she lost the chance to experience motherhood, but the actress went back on her vow to never walk down the aisle. However, the first meeting with her future husband, Tyler Hackford, did not seem like it would end up marrying him.

Hackford made the mistake of keeping Mirren waiting for her audition for "White Nights," so his first encounter with the actress was filled with anger, and she was not shy to lay it on thick.

Hackford confessed it was a strange first meeting because he had only heard good things about the actress. Nonetheless, the time they spent working together brought them closer.

The couple realized they had many things in common, such as a similar working-class background, a passion for telling exciting stories, and a love for travel and adventure.

Another part about Hackford that won Mirren over was his love and commitment to his two sons, whom he had from his previous relationships. The actress also formed a close and supportive relationship with her stepsons.

Hackford and Mirren were together for 12 years before they decided to get married. She was 52 at the time. The actress said she was still slightly against marriage, but that was not to say she was unhappy.

She thought the one part she hated about getting married would be her husband, but it was quite the opposite. The actress realized that she enjoyed referring to Hackford as her husband, both socially and privately.

Mirren and Hackford decided to get married because they knew they would be together forever. Therefore, their reason was based on the legal side of leading a life as a unit, like planning their estate and so forth.

Another reason was that Hackford and her dogs were the most incredible love she had ever known, so she had to hold on to them. This also triggered the realization that she never really hated marriage but needed the right person to do it with.

Not having children has also turned out to be a relief for Mirren; because “I can feel that kind of love for my extended family,” she explained. But Mirren was aware that it did not measure the experience of motherhood.

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