Celebrity Wedding Anniversary: Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford 31/12/1997

31 December 2016

Mirren married director Hackford on 31st December 1997, on his 53rd birthday. The couple had lived together in Los Angeles since 1986.

Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford

The ceremony was at Ardersier Parish Church near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands and Hackford wore a traditional Scottish tartan kilt.

The couple first met on the set of White Nights. Allegedly, their first meeting did not go well. Hackford apparently kept her waiting to audition. He said; "It was a strange way to meet Helen, because she is a lovely person," said Hackford , "but she didn't hold back her fury." (Wikipedia)

When asked about working with him, she revealed ; ' Working with him, I have to say, wasn't easy. My husband in work mode is not the easiest of people, although a lot of people adore working with him. But because I have the emotional connection with him, I would get upset if he was shouting - not at me, but at someone else, demanding something. I would be seeing it from their point of view. I would find myself rushing around trying to mop up after him. But I love the fact that he got the film together and he created a wonderful role for me. But husbands and wives don't need to work together. We are professional people in our own worlds. There's nothing I love more than going to my husband's set and being his wife. But this, it mixes the roles up. It either gets too cozy, which is not a good thing, because it's not very creative. Or it gets the opposite . . . he didn't make me cry, but he made me very cross.' (IMDB)

When asked about the reason their marriage has lasted Mirren admitted; 'This is no bullshit: the reason I'm still with Taylor Hackford after all these years is because he supports me in my work, he's proud of my successes and he's sympathetic if things aren't successful. If they aren't, he'll say, 'F*** 'em darling! You were great.' And I do likewise.' (IMDB)

And he words of wisdom of marital bliss; 'People get together for reasons other than sex and, although it's important for most couples, it's not what makes marriages last. I think the power of partnership in marriage is under-recognized in our society. That's what makes marriages work, not sex. ' (IMDB)

This is Mirren's; first marriage and Hackford's third- he has two children from previous marriages. Mirren has no children and admits he has 'no maternal instinct whatsoever.' (Wikipedia)