Helen Mirren’s shocking confession about her family name

Helen Mirren has recently made shocking confession about her family name.

The Hollywood legend shed light on her father’s decision to change the family name in a new interview with PEOPLE.

“One minute I was called Mironov, and then, Mirren,” said the 80-year-old.

Helen, who was one of three children raised by her dad and mom Kathleen, a UK native, recalled that her father, Vasiliy Mironov, a native of Russia who moved with his family to England as a boy, made the decision because “he wanted to assimilate”. 

Thursday Murder Club actress told the outlet, “Britain is a much more multicultural place than it was when I was a small child.”

“It was a pretty monoculture sort of place with very few foreign names,” added Helen.

MobLand actress described her father as “young scion of an illustrious Russian family” in her memoir, In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures, published in 2011.

It is pertinent to mention that the actress’ grandfather, Pyotor Vassili Mironov, was a member of the country’s military class and took part in the Russo-Japanese war.

In Helen’s book, Pyotor briefly lived in England where he and his family were “honoured guests of the British government, living in luxurious quarters within the Russian embassy”.