I learnt to smile in mid-thirties: Helen Mirren

London: Veteran actress Helen Mirren says she struggled to have a proper smile till her mid-thirties. The 71-year-old actress said she thought she looked "stupid" when the corners of her mouth turned upwards, but after she urged herself to grin more she noticed it instantly made her feel "a little bit better," reported Female First. "It was only actually in my mid-thirties that I learnt to smile.

I couldn't smile before that, I thought I looked stupid when I smiled. And then I learnt the power of a smile and funnily enough when you smile, even if you don't feel like smiling, you immediately feel a bit better. Life feels a little bit better when you're smiling," Mirren said. The actress also said she had a tough time battling with her lack of self-esteem and still struggles to feel positive everyday.

"I don't know if anyone else is different than me but it's something I have to handle on almost a daily basis. But certainly it's something I am aware of on a daily basis, you know, self-questioning...," she said. Mirren, however, feels her lack of confidence led her to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. "It may be one of the reasons I became an actress."