BBC

Dame Helen Mirren says she believes everyone is a “wonderful mix of male and female”.

The legendary actress, who’s currently starring in Sky Atlantic mini-series Catherine The Great, has argued against the notion that people are strictly male or female, a view she says is a result of her years in the acting world.

“I came to the conclusion an awfully long time ago that there is black and there is white, and we’re all somewhere in the middle in a wonderful mix of male and female,” she told Radio Times.

“There is no such thing as binary sexuality, when you’re male or female. I don’t believe that at all.”

She continued: “I think I was very lucky to be in my world, the world of acting and drama, because I think an awful lot of actors have male and female in them. A lot of great actors, great masculine actors, are actually very feminine.

“Great heart-throbs have a very present feminine side to them. A lot of very strong female actors, have a very strong male side to them.

“I hate to talk about my feelings, I never want to go to the doctor, and I’m a brilliant map-reader. I have a lot of what people might call male qualities. But I certainly look like a woman.”

Dame Helen also clarified that she’s not a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), a term which is used to describe people who believe identifying as a woman is not the same as being born a woman.

“If being a TERF is not accepting that trans women are women then I’m not a TERF,” she said.