The long-gone Essex school that once taught Dame Helen Mirren now a car parkThe school was sadly demolished to make way for road widening and a car parkView Image Dame Helen Mirren (Image: Scott Garfitt/PA Wire)School is often the place that shapes us as we grow up. ‌Helen Mirren is arguably one of the most famous people to have come from Essex. For decades, Dame Helen Mirren has been acting in roles many rank among the most iconic of all time. She attended the Hamlet Court School in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, and it was here she first got her acting chops. Helen Mirren has kept a connection to Essex.