Actress Dame Helen, the 78-year-old star of The Queen, Elizabeth I, Gosford Park, Calendar Girls, the TV series Prime Suspect and the narrator of the Barbie movie, has been chosen as a UK Barbie role model by the toy's maker Mattel.

She said she was "absolutely blown away" by the news.

"It's a very special thing and something I can add to my list of my favourite achievements - becoming a Dame of the British Empire, having an Oscar, having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and having my own Barbie," she said.

The one-of-a-kind doll recreates the outfit Dame Helen wore at Cannes last year: a cornflower blue gown by Del Core, and jewellery by Bulgari, along with blue hair and a fan.

The doll is also clutching a miniature Oscar statue, in recognition of Dame Helen's 2007 Academy Awards best actress win for The Queen.

"I love that the Barbie doll is wearing one of my favourite-ever red carpet looks," Dame Helen said.

"It was the first time I'd ever had blue hair and it felt so exciting.

"I like to embrace theatrical fashion and the joy that having fun with fashion can bring, and I think that this joy should be ageless."

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To mark Barbie's 65th anniversary year, Mirren is among eight women recognised for shaping the future through their inspiring stories, each one recognised with a doll made in their likeness.

The other women are Australian singer Kylie Minogue; Canadian singer Shania Twain; German comedian and activist Enissa Amani; Mexican director, producer and screenwriter Lila Aviles; American artist, activist, author and producer Viola Davis; Japanese model Nicole Fujita; and content creator from the Tatuyo Amazonas indigenous community, Maira Gomez.

Krista Berger, senior vice president and global head of Barbie and Dolls, said: "Barbie's story has never been just about her.

"It's about the countless young girls she's inspired, and the millions of stories she helped them imagine along the way."

Previous Barbie role model dolls have included likenesses of British Olympic skateboard medallist Sky Brown, COVID vaccine developer Professor Sarah Gilbert, sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, boxer Nicola Adams, tennis player Naomi Osaka and Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.