Who Is Helen Mirren’s Husband? All About Taylor Hackford

Helen Mirren and her husband Taylor Hackford are both Oscar winners.

The actress starred in her first film, Age of consentwhen she was 22 years old. During her time on TV, she became a household name The main suspect, which earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Other major roles in her career include The Madness of King Georgewhich earned her an Oscar nomination; Gosford Park, which earned her a second Oscar nomination; and Queen for which she won an Oscar.

Hackford also has an impressive resume, earning his first Academy Award in 1979 for the film Teenage father. He and Mirren dated for a decade before tying the knot in Scotland in 1997 and have been together ever since.

So who is Helen Mirren’s husband? Here’s everything you need to know about Taylor Hackford.

He went to USC

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Hackford grew up in Santa Barbara, California and attended the University of Southern California, but did not study film, despite becoming a successful director. Instead, he studied international relations and went into the Peace Corps. He also went to law school for two weeks and eventually got a job in the mail department of a Los Angeles public television station.

“I would go to repertory theaters every night and see whatever I could, every Fellini film, every Godard, every Truffaut, every Bergman, all the things you have to see,” he told the Directors Guild of America in 2015. “And whenever I had a moment, a little I would experiment with my Super 8 camera. One day someone at the station asked me if I could shoot film, and I said yes—even though I had never shot 16mm film in my life. I didn’t screw up too much, so they put me in front of the camera to work political reports, cultural events and music shows. As long as I didn’t sleep or eat, I could do anything.”

He is an award-winning director

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Hackford has directed and produced many films. In 1979, it won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Film for Teenage father. His second film, An officer and a gentleman (1982), starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger, received five Academy Award nominations. His other films include Against all odds (1984), Blood in, blood out (1993), Dolores Claiborne (1995) and Ray (2004). Hackford was nominated for Best Director and Best Picture of the Year for Ray.

He was also president of the American Directors Guild for two terms.

He shot several music videos

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Hackford has directed award-winning films, but that’s not all. He also directed multiple music videos for Lionel Richie and Phil Collins. “In documentaries, as in any film project, I want to tell a story, and part of the story here is understanding what the performer is saying, whether it’s a vocal or a guitar solo,” he told the Directors Guild of America. When two, three or four guitarists play together, something happens, dialogues are exchanged. Why would you interrupt otherwise, when you’re trying to understand what’s being said?”

The Oscar winner said that he loved music from a young age and recalled the moment when he discovered the songs of Ray Charles. “The first time I heard Ray Charles, I knew something was up. He was my man. That’s why I spent 13 years trying to raise money to do his biography.”

He has two sons from previous marriages

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The director welcomed his first son, Rio Hackford, with his first wife Georgie Lowres. After splitting from the Loewres in 1972, he married Lynne Litman, with whom he shares a son, Alexander Hackford.

Hackford’s older son Rio has acted in various TV series and films, including Pretty Woman, The Mandalorian, Treme, American Crime Story, Fred Claus, Swingers, True Detective and Pam & Tommy. He died in April 2022 at the age of 51 from uveal melanoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, Hackford and Mirren said they were “both inspired by the life of our son and stepson, Rio Hackford, and heartbroken by his loss. His life showed us how to live in generosity and community.” They added: “He shared his life’s journey with many who now mourn him, while at the same time celebrating how lucky they were to have known him.”

He dated Mirren for a decade before getting married

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Mirren and Hackford were together for 11 years before tying the knot in 1997 in Scotland. “I very consciously chose my work over my relationships up until the moment I met Taylor. I was 38 when I met Taylor, quite late in life,” Mirren said. AARP in 2016.

“We ended up getting married because we realized we were going to be together forever,” she explained. “We got married, ultimately, for legal reasons more than anything else. Estate planning and other complicated things like that. And our families, we felt, wanted us to be married. I’ve always said I don’t mind marriage; it’s just it wasn’t to my taste, like turnips. It took me a very long time to get the hang of it. I just had to get to know real turnips.”

He is very supportive of Mirren’s acting career

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Hackford joined his wife of more than 20 years on dozens of red carpets. He accompanied her to the 1999 Emmy Awards, where Mirren won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for her role in The Passion of Ayn Rand. He was also present at the 2007 Academy Awards when she won Best Actress for her role in Queen.

In 2010, the couple hit the red carpet for Mirren’s action comedy Red. In the same year, Hackford also visited Mirren’s wax figure at Madame Tussauds in London. When Mirren got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013, he also took a photo with her.

In January 2024, Hackford accompanied Mirren to the 81st Golden Globe Awards, where she was nominated for Best Actress in a TV Series for her work in the Taylor Sheridan film in 1923.

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Source: HIS Education