Exclusive With Helen Mirren: Work, love, and how she stays in shape

This is what 64 looks like these days. It comes in the form of gorgeous Helen Mirren who was caught in a red bikini a few months ago and landed in the pages of magazines everywhere. Forget all the child-woman stars out there.

It's Dame Mirren who was proclaimed one of the sexiest women on the globe.

Yes, the photo was untouched.

"Oh, dear," says Mirren during a phone interview when your mention her age-defying status in Hollywood. "I don't think anyone would think I'm sexy if they could see me first thing in the morning! But it's still incredibly flattering. Everyone is being so kind.

"The reality of it is I'm not more attractive or sexier. There are thousands of other women who would qualify for those words. I'm not any better than any woman out there," she demurs.

Q: Ms, Mirren, two words..red bikini. Can you talk about that one shot of you in that bikini that swept the globe earlier this year. You did women over 50 proud everywhere.

HM: "Oh, I was holding my tummy in on a vacation with my husband (director Taylor Hackford). I was being photographed by my husband and at that moment, a paparazzi jumped out on the beach in Hawaii and took that picture."

Q: You are being too modest.
HM: "There must be other shots on the beach that day that are far less flattering. You saw the tummy sucking in shot. In the other pictures you see the truth versus the reality."

Read more of the Exclusive Interview with Helen Mirren at ThirdAge.com