Helen Mirren. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Helen Mirren

Actress

British actress Helen Mirren, star of the popular 2015 film Woman in Gold, was recognized by the World Jewish Congress and its president, Ronald Lauder, for raising global awareness on Nazi-looted art.

In the film, Mirren plays Maria Altmann, who won a lawsuit against the Austrian government in 2006 to reclaim five paintings by Gustav Klimt; one of the Nazi-confiscated works, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, was a portrait of Altmann’s aunt. After the work was returned, Lauder purchased it for the Neue Galerie in New York City.

“Being a part of this film and preserving Maria Altmann’s legacy has been a truly exceptional experience from the start,” Mirren said.

She also declared her love for the “great, great country” of Israel when she was honored in Los Angeles with a lifetime achievement award by the Israel Film Festival.