Helen Mirren Reveals The Moment She Wanted To Become American

etcanada.com:

Dame Helen Mirren reflects on her dual-identity as an American and a Brit. The actress told People applying for American citizenship became more obvious as time went on. “My husband [Taylor Hackford] is American.

My stepchildren are obviously American. My nephew lived in America, worked in America,” she explained. “So I had certainly been an American resident for a very long time.” READ MORE: Helen Mirren And Husband Taylor Hackford ‘Had Dinner Together Every Night’ During Lockdown For The First Time In Almost 30 Years Of Marriage Mirren’s decision to apply came with the understanding she could retain her British citizenship. “When I understood, which I hadn’t quite grasped before, that I could be a British citizen and an American citizen — because I would not like to give up my British citizenship — then I thought, ‘Well, that’s great.

That’s the perfect world,” she added. The moment when she fully realized, however, that she really felt American was during the terrorist attacks on 9/11. “I saw the second tower come down,” the star recalled. “I had an epiphany.

I realized where my allegiance and my heart and my intellect lay in that confrontation between extremism, religiosity — all those things and everything that America represents.” READ MORE: Helen Mirren Says Criticism Of Her Casting As Israel PM Golda Meir Is ‘Utterly Legitimate’ When she finally completed the application process, the 76-year-old was filled with a sense of pride. “I didn’t realize how profound a feeling it would be,” said Mirren. “It brought up feelings of patriotism that I didn’t think I had.