Helen Mirren named Hasty Pudding Theatricals' Woman of the Year

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals says British actress Helen Mirren will be the recipient of its 2014 Woman of the Year Award.

Established in 1951, the Woman of the Year Award is the theater company's oldest honor. It is bestowed annually on performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment. Previous entertainers who have won the award are Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Hathaway, Claire Danes and Marion Cotillard.

This year's prize will be presented during a celebrity roast Jan. 30 before which Mirren will lead a parade through the streets of Cambridge, Mass.

"How very saucy of the Hasty Pudding organization to offer me their award," said Mirren in a statement Friday. "As someone who adores pudding in all its manifestations ... Suet, Christmas, Treacle, Bread and Butter, Yorkshire, Plum, Figgy, etc., etc., I am so looking forward to the famous Hasty Pudding."

"It gives us great pleasure to bestow Ms. Mirren with our prestigious Woman of the Year Award recognizing her significant contributions to entertainment," said Tony Oblen, 2014 President of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals." "We look forward to welcoming Ms. Mirren and celebrating and honoring her achievements in a truly unique and memorable way."