Helen Mirren took center stage as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award just days before the 2026 Golden Globe Awards.
The actress, 80, received the honor during the new annual prime-time special Golden Eve, which aired on CBS and Paramount+ on Thursday, January 8.
Mirren was praised by her peers on the night, including Harrison Ford, who described the actress as a “badass” before she took to the stage to accept her award.
“The word that comes to mind is not ‘dame,’ it’s ‘badass,’ he said. “And when she goes full badass, it’s awesome to watch.”
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Accepting the award, Mirren made a humorous speech where she joked that receiving awards from the Golden Globes meant that she now had “two large balls.” She then deadpanned, “As you can imagine really helped me in my career.”
She paid tribute to writers, fellow actors and others she’s worked with over the years and said that she hoped her career would continue.
“The DeMille Award was described to me as a career recognition, but I like to think of it as lives lived, defied, lives carried on, hopefully. And given that hope, I would prefer to think of this as a ongoing reflection of my career rather than a eulogy. Not writing my own eulogy.” she joked. “Although I have to say if this were my memorial, looking out at this audience, I would be absolutely thrilled who showed up for me and I am making a list of the no-shows.”
In November 2025, the Golden Globes announced Mirren as the 2026 Cecil B. DeMille Award winner.
“Helen Mirren is a force of nature and her career is nothing short of extraordinary,” Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne said in a statement at the time. “Her transcendent performances and commitment to her craft continue to inspire generations of artists and audiences alike. It is a profound honor to present her with the Cecil B. DeMille Award.”
Mirren is the 70th recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award since its 1952 creation. The accolade was named after its first honoree, an iconic director who died in 1959. Over the course of more than seven decades, the award has been given to Hollywood legends such as Walt Disney, Audrey Hepburn, Sydney Poitier, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks.
This is hardly the first Golden Globe to decorate Mirren’s shelves. Out of her 18 career nominations, she has won three Golden Globes in years past: one for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for The Queen in 2007 and two for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television for her roles in Losing Chase in 1997 and Elizabeth I in 2007.
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In addition to her Cecil B. DeMille Award, Mirren could also secure another accolade during the 2026 Golden Globe Awards in a matter of days. She is nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Drama for her work on MobLand. Her fellow contenders in the category are The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey, Severance’s Britt Lower, Matlock’s Kathy Bates, The Diplomat’s Keri Russell and Pluribus’ Rhea Seehorn.
Ahead of the Golden Globes ceremony, the Golden Eve prime-time special put the focus on Mirren’s Cecil B. DeMille Award and Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carol Burnett Award. Viewers received an extended look at the actresses’ legacies in the form of personal stories, career retrospectives and special presenters. The broadcast was part of Golden Week, a new weeklong Golden Globes-branded experience across Paramount platforms to celebrate the impending awards show.
As for the upcoming Golden Globes, Nikki Glaser will host the event on Sunday, January 11, at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. The broadcast will air live on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET.
