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Nazi beast turned me off cocaine - Helen Mirren

by LotusFlower | August 31, 2008 at 09:46 pm

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These will come as truly shocking revealations for those that are used to seeing Oscar winning actress as the Queen or as detective in Prime Suspect but might also be seen as hopeful for young stars who might feel that they are locked into a drugs lifestyle with no way out. The connection with the Nazi Klaus Barbie in Ms. Mirrens rehabilitation is an indication how sometimes just one clear spark of revealation can turn a life around and that spark could from anywhere.

Helen Mirren has revealed she used to take cocaine as a young party-going actress.

The star who won an Oscar for The Queen said she loved the drug - but turned her back on it because of a Nazi war criminal.

Dame Helen, 63, was asked if she had ever taken illegal substances, and replied: "A bit of dope when I was younger... A bit of cocaine.

"I loved coke. I never did a lot, just a little bit at parties.

"What ended it for me was when they caught Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyons, in the early 80s.

"He was in South America and living off the proceeds as a cocaine baron. I never touched it again.