Helen Mirren To Play Golda Meir, Trailblazing Israeli Woman Prime Minister, In Biopic

Helen Mirren as Golda Meir: Academy awardee Helen Mirren is set to step into the shoes of Israel's pioneering Prime Minister, the late Golda Meir, in a new biopic. Titled Golda, the feature will be directed by Israeli filmmaker Guy Nattiv (also an Academy awardee) and is scheduled to begin production later this year in October.

Mirren, who will next be seen on screens in The Duke, enjoys legendary status in the film industry. The glittering trail of awards she has picked through her more than half-century film and stage career prominently boasts of the Triple Crown of Acting - Academy, Emmy, Tony awards.

Skin director Nattiv was quoted saying, "As someone who was born during the Yom Kippur War, I am honoured to tell this fascinating story about the first and only woman to ever lead Israel. I could not be more excited to work with the legendary Miss Mirren to bring this epic, emotional and complex story to life."

Helen Mirren As Golda Meir In Biopic: Remembering The Late Israeli PM

Golda will follow the life of Meir, with a focus on the events of and her leadership during the 1970s' Yom Kippur War. As a lone female commander on the administration, she was known as the 'Iron Lady' of Israel, carrying her country through during the attack by Egypt and Syria. She resigned from her post a year after the end of the Yom Kippur War, dying four years later from lymphoma.

But Meir is known for far more than her role in the Arab-Israel war. She was the first, and to date the only, woman on Israel's Prime Minister seat. Elected in 1969, she served four terms until her resignation.

Previous to her top post, she also served as the Labour Minister and Foreign Minister for Israel, at a time when women's participation in Israeli politics was negligible. She was noted for helping develop the National Insurance Act of 1954, which granted equal rights and welfare measures, such as maternity benefits, and spoke up against atrocities during the 1972 Munich massacre.

Meir's legacy has been portrayed many times over, in film and writing. Ingrid Bergman essayed Meir in 1982 television film A Woman Called Golda, Lynn Cohen played her in 2005 film Munich, and Beata Fudalej in 2009 film The Hope.