HELEN MIRREN - RUSSIAN HERITAGE PROVES MIRREN WAS BORN TO ACT

DAME HELEN MIRREN considers herself to have been born to act - because her Russian ancestors created the country's first ever theatre.
The actress, who has a Russian father and whose real name is Illiana Mironova, made the discovery while researching her new autobiography, In The Frame: My Life In Words And Pictures.
Mirren explains, "I think it has to be genetic. One of my Russian ancestors started the first theatre in Russia, a serf theatre on his estate in the 18th century. It was one of the very first formal theatres.
"But my mother was a huge drama queen, so it could have come from her side of the family also."