Dame Helen Mirren, 78, cuts a chic figure in a black suit and heels as she attends the Golda premiere after coming under fire for playing a Jewish politician in a biopic

Dame Helen Mirren looked nothing short of sensational as she attended the Golda premiere at Picturehouse Central in London on Thursday evening.

The 77-year-old actress, who plays the lead role of Israel’s first female Prime Minister Golda Meir, cut a stylish figure in a black velvet suit.

The star paired her look with a crisp white blouse and a chic tie.

Boosting her enviable figure, she opted for a pair of black heels and carried a black handbag.

Helen wore her blonde locks in a sleek, straight hairstyle and accessorized with gold hoop earrings.

The 2023 biopic stars Dame Helen, who plays Israel’s first – and only – female Prime Minister Golda Meir.

Director Guy Nattiv’s film is set during the 19-day Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Arab forces, led by Egypt, attacked Israel during the holiest time of the year.

The film details the controversial decisions the politician made during the height of the war, which left her country suffering huge losses in a battle with several Arab states.

Golda is written by Nicholas Martin, who previously wrote the whimsical film Florence Foster Jenkins, and will be directed by Guy, who previously directed the Oscar-winning short film Skin.

Dame Helen previously said of the role: ‘Golda Meir was a formidable, unyielding and powerful leader. It is a great challenge to portray her at the most difficult moment of her special life. I just hope I do her justice!’

Director Guy said: “I have long been an admirer of the great Helen Mirren. She has blended so brilliantly into the character of Golda Meir with incredible talent, intelligence, depth and emotion, and does justice to the richness and complexity of this incredible woman.”

However, Dame Helen, who was buried under layers of prosthetics for the film, has faced a barrage of abuse for taking on the role.

And Mirren says playing the leader, despite having no off-screen connections to Judaism, has been met with “perfectly legitimate” criticism from those who believe the role should have been passed to a Jewish actress.

Chic: The actress, 77, who plays Israel’s first female Prime Minister Golda Meir, cut a stylish figure in a black velvet suit

Starring: The star paired her look with a crisp white blouse and a chic tie

Stylish: She boosted her enviable figure, opted for a pair of black heels and carried a black handbag

She told the Daily Mail: ‘It was definitely a question I had before I accepted the role. I said, ‘Look, Guy, I’m not Jewish, and if you want to think about that and decide to go in a different direction… then I will absolutely understand.'”

Mirren needed two to three hours of preparation a day to physically transform into the chain-smoking Meir as a 75-year-old.

“I’ve never done anything like that before,” she said. ‘It was an adventure. I got so used to being that person during the day that when the makeup came off and I saw myself for who I am, I forgot I looked like that.

‘It’s that acting: do I become her or does she become me? There’s a photo the crew took of me and Golda, and we’re wearing the same outfits. She turns to me and says something, and I look forward to it with a cigarette. It’s really powerful.’

Meir was born in Ukraine in 1898 before moving to the US as a child and made history in 1969 as Israel’s first female prime minister.

Role: Golda Meir (photo) is played by Helen in the new biopic about her life

In film: Director Guy Nattiv’s film is set during the 19-day Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Arab forces, led by Egypt, attacked Israel during the holiest time of the year (photo Camille Cottin, left, and Helen as Golda Meir right)

She quickly sparked international controversy by saying, “There was no such thing as Palestinians.”

Meir came under intense criticism in Israel for failing to adequately prepare for the threat of war, despite receiving news that Syrian troops were gathering for an attack.

After the reactions to her approach to the war, Meir announced her resignation in 1974. She died in 1978 at the age of 80.

The film also stars Call My Agent! actress Camille Cottin as Meir’s personal assistant and Israeli Lior Ashkenazi as her chief of staff.

Golda will be released in cinemas across the UK on October 6.