helen mirrenHow hot is Helen Mirren? She's still so hot at 66 that in last night's episode of The Office, Toby brought up Mirren as another great beauty when everyone noticed Pam was feeling insecure about her looks in late pregnancy. "Oh yeah, have you seen her in a bikini? Amazing!" Ryan yells, eyes glowing. "You know what would be even hotter than Helen Mirren? A pregnant Helen Mirren," Toby adds. 

Ahem, pregnant Mirren aside, you have to admit she is probably one of the first people we think of when we ponder how to age gracefully. 

Just this summer, an L.A. Fitness poll voted hers the "Best Body of the Year" -- not "Hot Older Dame of the Year," Best Body of the Year, period. So how does she do it? What are Helen Mirren's aging-gorgeously secrets?

In interviews Helen says she does a lot of the usual: healthy diet, vitamins, getting plenty of sleep. She also walks her dog regularly, and if you think she looks sensational in a bikini, she says it's because she's always holding in her tummy. (Isotonic exercise!) 

Helen says she doesn't do plastic surgery yet, though she doesn't judge other people going that route -- but only if they're of a respectable age. "The only thing I don’t like on young people is plastic surgery," she said recently.

But she works out, right? That's what we're all thinking. Tell us, Helen. Tell us about your workout routine. Is it Pilates? Are you also a fan of workout guru Tracy Anderson?

Nope. Helen admits she doesn't really work out that much, at least not as much as other Hollywood stars do. Instead she plays games -- on Wii Fit. "The Wii is fun, and it's infinitely varied," she told the Daily Mail last year. "You can hula, jog, yoga, step, all in one session. You need never get bored as every day you can tailor a new workout ... it's my new best friend."

And for Helen, aging well has more to do with attitude than anything else. Women don't lose their sex appeal as they age, she says. It just shifts: "It is some indefinable thing that has to do with appreciation of life, appreciation of wisdom ... there should be a special word for it." You hear that, Pam? It's all about appreciating life and gaining wisdom! Not that you're going to get any wiser at Dunder Mifflin, but still, there's something we can all learn from Helen Mirren.

Are you doing anything special in order to age well?

 

Image via Neilson Barnard/Getty