Name a nun more popular and more iconic than Mother Teresa. The beloved Catholic figure, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, was the founder of Missionaries of Charity, an organization of nuns and volunteers who spend their time managing homes for people with HIV, leprosy, and tuberculosis. For her work in the church as well as the miracles that have been attributed to her, the Catholic Church canonized Mother Teresa as a saint and is now known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. She’s also won a Nobel peace prize. There have been a few biopics about Mother Teresa in the past. In 2003, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was released, a movie that details her life and work. She was played by English actress Olivia Hussey. The movie would go on to win a CAMIE award. Her most recent biopic was released in 2014, titled The Letters. In the film, Juliet Stevenson plays Mother Teresa as she goes through her journey of helping the needy. Reviewing the movie, Nell Minow of Movie Mom wrote: “Some people are disturbed by discovering through her published letters that at times she felt doubts about herself, her work, and even about God. But it was that same resolute honesty that compelled her to follow her calling and it would be more disturbing if she never doubted or if she doubted and did not feel she could express it. Her accomplishments are even more impressive once we learn how fiercely she wrestled with God.” Regardless of your opinion of Mother Teresa, no one can deny that she’s a notable figure with a continuing influence on the world today. If movie execs decided to do a biopic on her life story tomorrow, they should seriously consider casting one of these five actresses, who we believe will do an excellent job portraying Mother Teresa’s larger-than-life story.
Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren, 76, is no stranger to biopics. She played Queen Elizabeth II in the universally acclaimed movie The Queen, for which she won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. If that isn’t enough testament to how well she portrays real-life people, Mirren also played Sofya Tolstoy in The Last Station, screenwriter Alma Revile in Hitchcock, gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in Trumbo, and heiress Sarah Winchester in Winchester. She’s also set to play the role of Golda Meir in an upcoming biopic about the former Israel prime minister. If Mirren is tapped to play Mother Teresa on screen, the esteemed nun’s legacy is in good hands. Given Mirren’s attitude towards acting, which she revealed in an interview with Glamour, she might just be the perfect actress to play the saint on screen. “I made some bold and quite brave moves at various times in my life, maybe slightly professionally suicidal moves,” Mirren says. “But I don’t regret any of it. I always try to make the tapestry of my work as broad as possible. To me, the most successful way to conduct my professional life is to constantly search out new and different things to do.”
Judi Dench
One of the most esteemed thespians of British and American cinema, Judi Dench, 87, is the same age now as when Mother Teresa died in 1997. With much of Mother Teresa’s saintly work being done later in her life, that makes Judi Dench the perfect actress to play her in front of the camera. She has quite a number of biopics in her repertoire, so playing Mother Teresa shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for the veteran actress. She’s played Queen Victoria in Victoria & Abdul, Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare’s wife, not Catwoman) in All is True, actress Sybil Thorndike in My Week With Marilyn, and novelist Iris Murdoch in Iris. Rotten Tomatoes describes Dench as “one of the most celebrated actresses of her generation.” Mother Teresa’s life and work deserve to be portrayed by an actress of Dench’s caliber.
Meryl Streep
In the wise words of Cam from Modern Family, “Excuse me. Meryl Streep could play Batman and be the right choice.” Seriously though, Meryl Streep is a brilliant choice to play Mother Teresa in a potential biopic. The actress is a biopic veteran, having played notable figures in widely acclaimed movies in the past. She’s played Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady, a role that won her an Oscar for Best Actress. She also played famed chef Julia Childs in Julie & Julia, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. Other notable real-life people she’s played include activist Emmeline Pankhurst in Suffragette, Florence Foster Jenkins in Florence Foster Jenkins, and publisher Kay Graham in The Post. Meryl Streep once popularly gave this piece of advice about acting: “Acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.”
Julie Walters
Julie Walters is best known for playing Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter series as well as Mrs. Bird in Paddington. She’s also a good casting choice for Mother Teresa in a hypothetical biopic. Walters doesn’t have a lot of biopics in her filmography, although she’s notably played British politician Mo Mowlam in Mo, activist Mary Whitehouse in Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story, and educator Marie Stubbs in Ahead of the Class. Walters has also played a wide variety of roles, so taking on the challenge of playing Mother Teresa shouldn’t be too much for her.
Glenn Close
Glenn Close’s mind-blowing transformation in Hillbilly Elegy gives us hope that she’d be the perfect actress to play Mother Teresa in a biopic. If you squint your eyes a little and let the makeup team do its magic, she can totally be transformed into the beloved nun. Like Walters, Glenn Close doesn’t have a lot of experience playing real-life people. She played gay rights activist Margarethe “Grethe” Cammermeyer in a 1995 film titled Serving in Silence. Glenn Close is a multi-awarded actress, however, with so many widely acclaimed projects in her repertoire. She can pretty much take on any kind of role, from an obsessed lover in Fatal Attraction to a dog-hating fashion designer in 101 Dalmatians.
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