News
Send Us Feedback

Find, view and share videos about celebrities and entertainment from around the Web.
See Videos »

Nazi Barbie Turned Mirren Off Cocaine

Oscar Winner Also Says She Was Date Raped in a Revealing Interview

posted: 91 DAYS 11 HOURS AGO
comments: 13
Text SizeAAA
LONDON (Sept. 2) - Oscar-winning British actress Helen Mirren said she used to love cocaine, but stopped taking the drug after learning that a Nazi war criminal profited from the trade, according to a magazine.
The 63-year-old, who won an Academy Award for her role in "The Queen," was quoted by British GQ magazine as saying she used to dabble in marijuana and cocaine when she was younger.
Helen Mirren and Klaus Barbie
AP

Helen Mirren tells GQ that she used to dabble in cocaine, but was turned off to the drug after reading about how Nazi criminal Klaus Barbie was living in South America off of the riches he made as a coke baron.

"I loved coke. I never did a lot, just a little bit at parties," Mirren was quoted as telling the magazine in an interview, which was made available to the media Monday. "But what ended it for me was when they caught (Nazi war criminal) Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon, in the early 80s. He was hiding in South America and living off the proceeds of being a cocaine baron.
"And I read that in the paper, and all the cards fell into place, and I saw how my little sniff of cocaine at a party had an absolute direct route to this ... horrible man in South America," she was quoted as saying.
Mirren wasn't holding back during her interview, saying she was date-raped "a couple of times" when she was younger but kept it private. "You couldn't do that in those days," she said of her decision to stay quiet.
Her past history gave her an unusual perspective on date rape, and she tells GQ that a woman who was intimate with a man but said no to sex at the last second most likely couldn't "have that man into court."

This Week in Pop Culture

    Oct. 10, 2006: Sharon Osbourne stunned the audience of her British talk show 'The Sharon Osbourne Show' by showing up drunk on set. Ozzy Osbourne's wife, who was celebrating her 54th birthday, swayed and giggled her way through interviews with British TV personality Michael Barrymore and singer Amy Winehouse.

    Kevin Winter, Getty Images

    Oct. 11, 2005: Mariah Carey bought a seat for her dog on a flight from NYC to LA, but the airline refused to let the dog aboard because he was "too big". In response, Mariah dispatched her chauffeur to drive Jack the Jack Russell terrier 3,000 miles across America.

    James Devaney, Wire Image

    Oct. 11, 1975: Live ... from New York ... it's the debut of 'Saturday Night Live,' with host George Carlin and featuring musical guests Janis Ian and Billy Preston.

    Everett Collection

    Oct. 13, 1971: Sacha Baron Cohen is born in England. Following an education at Cambridge, he will conquer the world of comedy when he morphs into Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev.

    Christophe Ena, AP

    Oct. 9, 1940: John Winston Lennon is born in Liverpool, England, to Julia and Freddie Lennon. After his parents' break-up, he will spend much of his childhood in the care of his aunt, Mimi Smith. As a teen he will team up with Paul McCartney and George Harrison to form the Quarrymen, eventually evolving into arguably the greatest rock band ever.

    AP

    Oct. 9, 2006: After a rivalry arose from the 'Simple Life' co-stars and BBFs, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie finally patch up their differences and enjoy a meal together in Los Angeles.

    Todd Williamson, Wire Image

    Oct. 8, 2005: Vogue editor-in-chief Anna "The Devil" Wintour gets a face full of a tofu pie courtesy of PETA activists outraged by her magazine's running of ads for fur-based clothing. (PETA / AP)

    PETA / AP

    Oct. 13, 2005:'Lost' actor Josh Holloway and his wife, Yessica, were robbed at gunpoint at their Hawaiian home . The thief took cash, credit cards and a Mercedes-Benz, which was later found abandoned.

    Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

    Oct. 13, 2005: Tommy Lee was taken to the hospital after a stunt went wrong during a concert. Faulty pyrotechnics exploded beneath the drummer as he was swinging from a cable several feet above the stage.

    Amanda Edwards, Getty Images

    Oct. 12, 1944: A mob of 30,000, most of them female teens, swarm the Paramount Theater in Manhattan in an effort to secure tickets to Frank Sinatra's show, a crush of madness that is dubbed the Columbus Day Riot.

    Bettman, Corbis

British Home Office Minister Tony McNulty shot back criticism, saying "No means no, means no, and that needs to be the message as clearly as we can in terms of rape."
During the interview, Mirren said she used to steal during what she described as a "very poor" youth.
"I needed to shoplift for food," she reportedly said, adding that while she enjoyed "the accoutrements of movie star life" she still had frugal instincts, cutting her own hair and wearing dollar-store glasses.
Mirren said she was not a royalist but had become a fan of Queen Elizabeth II since playing her in "The Queen."
"It's a miracle she's never gone mad," Mirren was quoted as saying. "She is a remarkable person, who has achieved an amazing thing with a life she neither chose for herself, nor particularly wanted."
Mirren's interview is carried in the British edition of GQ, which goes on sale Thursday.
2008-09-02 07:37:40
GOOD READ?
466 votes
(13)
Sort by:

1 - 10

APOCALYPZ187

06:18 PMSep 04 2008

Sdave7596 blow me. Helen Mirren is a crack-head wh0re

AVG RATING:
(0)

yr00000008721261

08:25 AMSep 03 2008

Thank you for your candor, Helen. It is very refreshing in this day and age.

AVG RATING:
(4)

Sdave7596

06:20 PMSep 02 2008

Big deal - not sure why Helen Mirren felt the need to get so personal though. But she is of that generation that tried drugs - she is hardly unique. And APOCALYP - get a life. How judgemental - after all she is just few years older than George Bush, correct? Like I said, people of that generation......

AVG RATING:
(5)

FatherDJohnson

02:15 PMSep 02 2008

Gee, I have always been an admirer of Helen Mirren but this comment about her professed reason for quitting cocaine amounts to a phony claim for virtue on her part. I guess it did not cause her conscience any pangs as long as the psychopathic murderers who have always made up the drug cartels were furnishing her with product, but if an ex-Nazi gets a share of the profit, then she 86's that habit. What a bunch of crap!

AVG RATING:
(9)

APOCALYPZ187

02:05 PMSep 02 2008

To Mdwrecker6: So she was doing drugs with other crackheads and got raped, boo-hoo, cry me a river. What did she expect? to be treated like a Queen with white gloves among other drug addicts? Oh and let's not forget this happened on more than one occasion? That's not coincidence, she was looking to get high and in exchange gave up her body. I would call that prostitution. So I think you're the imbecil for having such poor deductive reasoning skills. Go smoke a meat pole .

AVG RATING:
(9)

Reimb53

01:59 PMSep 02 2008

So if someone other than Klaus/ or another Nazi would not have been the seller that would've made the her use of cocaine ok, and she would've continued using this illegal drug? I've heard of lame excuses but this one takes it all. It would be like me saying that I will quit watching Rugby because I hate the English. True, I don't care for them much, but I still watch Rugby.

AVG RATING:
(10)

Mdwrecker6

01:30 PMSep 02 2008

funny how she predicted everybody's response on this board just by her comment about not being able to come forward after being raped.what a bunch of imbeciles.

AVG RATING:
(10)

salutmanu

01:17 PMSep 02 2008

Why is it that Americans mix up every situations? Wether it is Al Qaeda and Sadam Hussein or rape and drugs??!! GET EDUCATED PLEASE!

AVG RATING:
(9)

APOCALYPZ187

01:02 PMSep 02 2008

She was date-raped "a couple of times"? really, I wonder how that woul've happened. Sounds more like she was looking for that and being high. Didn't matter who was banging her, as long as she had a high and was getting c0ck, she was good to go. What the last guy said, what a lady.

AVG RATING:
(9)

Quilter716

11:21 AMSep 02 2008

Evidently the first "date rape" was so good she kept going back for more. What a Lady.

AVG RATING:
(10)

1 - 10 of 13

{ JOIN the CONVERSATION }

YOU'LL BE ASKED TO REGISTER OR LOGIN BEFORE POSTING A COMMENT.