Helen Mirren to receive BAFTA fellowship

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts says it plans to present actress Helen Mirren with its Academy Fellowship in London next month. Mirren will receive the prize at the British Academy Film Awards ceremony at the Royal Opera House Feb. 16. The annual fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed by the academy upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, television or games, BAFTA said. "Dame Helen Mirren receives the fellowship as one of the most outstanding actresses of her generation. Dame Helen's incredibly successful career is testament to the determination, dedication and skill she brings to each of her roles," BAFTA Chairman John Willis said in a statement Monday. "This is the greatest professional honor I can imagine, certainly one I never dreamed of as a schoolgirl in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. To join that list of legendary names is overwhelming," Mirren said, referring to past fellowship recipients such as Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Lee and Martin Scorsese.