Helen Mirren shares grief of losing stepson to cancer and how she celebrates the 'fortune of knowing him'

Helen Mirren is honest about many things, from her issues with the word 'beauty,' to why she no longer celebrates birthdays.

The actress is often praised for her candid outlook on important issues, and she's now spoken about a very poignant matter and how it affects her family - the ongoing effects of grief after losing her stepson, Rio Hackford, to cancer in 2022, when he was aged 51.

Helen has always been open about not wanting to be a mother herself, but she formed a close bond with stepsons Rio and Alex, when she married their father, Taylor Hackford, in 1997.

Rio died from uveal melanoma, a rare form of eye cancer. In conversation with People, Helen explains, "We didn't know about that condition. And it was only through that awful experience that we learned that this is a melanoma that can grow at the back of your eye without you having any consciousness of it."

Urging people to get their eyes checked regularly, she says, "so get your eyes checked twice a year, please. Rio hadn't had his eyes checked for 10 years because his eyesight didn't change."

"He thought, ‘Why do I need my eyes checked if my eyesight's perfectly fine?' If he'd had his eyes checked, they would've caught it early."

Helen shared how she keeps a picture of Rio as the screensaver on her phone, to allow her to "look at his face all the time, every day."

Since her stepson's death, Helen, her husband and remaining stepson, Alex, 46, have their special ways to keep his memory alive.

This involves visiting the sea, one of his favourite places to go. "He loved the ocean. He loved going into the ocean," the star explains. She adds, "So we go to the ocean and the men in the family jump into the ocean to memorialise him."

Rio, also an actor who appeared in the likes of American Crime Story, True Detective and The Mandalorian, had a wide circle of friends, who also do what they can to honour him.

The family share how Rio "showed us how to live in generosity and community," adding, "he shared his life's journey with so many who now mourn him, and at the same time, celebrate their fortune in knowing him."

According to the NHS, uveal melanoma is a rare malignant cancer, affecting seven people in every million each year.

For some people, such as Rio, there may not be any symptoms until the tumour is found during a routine eye test. For others, they might experience visual disturbances such as flashing lights, blurred vision or a shadow in one eye.

There is no known cause of uveal melanoma and it's not related to sun exposure. It has been found, however, to be more likely to affect people who are fair skinned with grey/blue eyes.

The average age of onset is 55-60 years old.