Very nice Annee, it is always great to see some pictures of Ioan. Here in Belgium there is never an article about him in a magazine, which is very sad. So I am glad to have my friends of the Ioanzone. Thank you all. :love:

It's so nice to see all of these lovely pics all together in a collection like this. It had been a while since I'd seen a lot of them. Thanks, Annee!

Nice icons of Ioan and Ms. Mironov. Thanks to Gabi! http://gabietink.livejournal.com/9477.html PS: My Fave is number 39.

Ms. Mironov? Sorry if I sound harsh, but why don't you use the name celebrities are commonly known as, Annee? If you say Ms. Mirren, most people will immediately understand whom you're talking about, while if you say Ms. Mironov, just Helen Mirren's fans will understand whom you are referring to. Anyway, nice find! Thanks for sharing.

To explain where I'm coming from, I only discovered it today that Helen Mirren's birth name is Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov, so I was quite confused when I read that (Mironov) name that I had never heard before and clicked on a link and found pics of Helen Mirren.

Nice pictures of both of them. I think I saw an interview with her about two weeks ago when she mentioned her Russian descent. I didn't know it either before that. I wonder why she chose not to use her original last name. It doesn't seem too difficult to pronounce. Her first and second name might have been more difficult for English speakers.

That's interesting. He must be a unique man. I took a cultural anthropology course years ago and in general the immigrating generation keeps the original name unless they are forced to change. It is usually the children who change the surname or their first names to make it easier to assimilate. And the third or fourth generation want to go back to their cultural roots. Of course, most of that information was probably based on immigration to the U.S. since a majority of our population descend from more recent immigrants (a couple hundred years).

From what I could find, Helen Mirren's father is from an aristocratic Russian military family who happened to be stationed in England at the time of the Russian Revolution and he moved to the UK when he was still a kid.

I wonder if Helen's father was trying to avoid being associated with Stalinism in the '50s? Helen Mirren went to the same drama school as me, and a certain Principle Lecturer is famously known to have told Helen to go into teaching, as she'd never make it as an actress....... :roll:

Sounds like an intriguing life story. I just read your note Stevie. Makes you wonder how much drama teachers know, doesn't it?

Have enjoyed all this dialogue very much,ladies. Thanks, Annee, I wouldn't have known about the 'Mironov' connection myself.......learn something new all the time. Lovely icons!

Annee, I just want to give you a big thank you for always finding such great pictures & news articles about Ioan!! They are some really great pics! I just love Ioan's full head of gorgeous hair!! :) --Sarah