Helen Mirren to receive lifetime fellowship at British Academy Film Awards

A Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 photo from files showing Helen Mirren as she arrives at the 66th Annual DGA Awards Dinner in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell Invision/AP, File)

LONDON -- Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren, whose roles have ranged from a hard-nosed detective to Queen Elizabeth II, is to receive the British Academy Film Awards' highest honour.

The academy announced Monday that the 68-year-old will collect the BAFTA Fellowship at a London ceremony next month. Chairman John Willis said Mirren was being honoured "as one of the most outstanding actresses of her generation."

Previous fellowship recipients include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Elizabeth Taylor and Judi Dench. Mirren said that "to join that list of legendary names is overwhelming."

Mirren was acclaimed for her starring role in the TV detective series "Prime Suspect" and won a best-actress Academy Award in 2006 for playing Britain's monarch in "The Queen."

The awards ceremony takes place Feb. 16 at London's Royal Opera House.