Dame Helen Mirren shares her tips for a happy life

Dame Helen Mirren shared her five rules for a happy life in a speech to students at a US university - and top of her list was not being in a rush to get married.

The acclaimed actress, 71, wed her long-term partner, the director Taylor Hackford, on New Year's Eve 1997, when she was 52.

Dame Helen made her five rules the basis for her 2017 commencement address at Tulane University in Louisiana, then offered a host of additional life tips to the students, urging them not to confuse sex with love, to ignore anyone who judges the way they look, and to call their parents once a week.

The British actress told the audience: "I married Taylor a lot later in my life and it's worked out great.

"And always give your partner the freedom and support to achieve their ambitions."

Dame Helen's second rule revolved around treating "people like people".

She revealed how, at the start of her career, she was in the back seat of a car with a fellow actress en route to a location when her co-star offered the driver a cigarette.

The actress said it taught her a lesson she's never forgotten.

"To her, he wasn't a 'driver person', but a 'person person' who might want a smoke."

She drew a laugh when she joked that today her friend "would probably be arrested for attempted murder" for offering around cigarettes.

Source: NZ Herald.