Howwe won war of the close-ups!

As You magazine prints a stunning portrait of Helen Mirren at 70, how Brits beat the US stars by NOT choosing the knife...

WITH her easy smile and the giveaway laughter lines of a life welllived, Dame Helen Mirren maintains her radiant, natural beauty at the age of 70.

And speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday’s You magazine, the actress says that a few crow’s feet are nothing when combined with the self-confidence that can only come with advancing years.

‘There’s a huge pressure on young girls to look a certain way these days,’ she says. ‘But, as I age, I’ve lost that incredible insecurity of youth. It’s great that the penny has finally dropped.’

Adding that women of her age will no longer ‘sink into invisibility,’ she adds: ‘As I get older, I don’t look as good, but I don’t give a damn.’

Admitting that she is ‘pretty laissez faire’ about her beauty regime, she says: ‘I climb on the bus and get snapped with no make-up on and I rarely go to the hairdresser’s.’ She adds that growing old is ‘not for pussies’ and says it takes courage to embrace your advancing years.

But her laid-back approach – and that of other British actresses – is in brutal contrast to American stars who take to surgical enhancement or treatments such as Botox to try to hold back the clock.

Here The Mail on Sunday celebrates the beautiful British roses who have blossomed with age, compared to the salutary lessons to be learned from their Hollywood counterparts.