The 80-year old English star, who became a household name in the 1990s after her portrayal of tough-talking DCI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect, was recognised for her services to drama.
The honour recognises significant contribution to the arts, science, medicine or government over a long period of time and is limited to just 65 people at any one time.
Born Ilynea Lydia Mironoff in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, Dame Helen trained as a teacher but ditched her studies in favour of the stage – making an immediate impact playing Cleopatra in a 1965 production for the National Youth Theatre.
She was soon snapped up by the Royal Shakespeare Company and tackled numerous classical parts before winning a string of roles in the 1980s including in The Long Good Friday, Excalibur and Peter Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover.
Dame Helen later starred as DCI Tennison in the crime-thriller Prime Suspect and earned three consecutive BAFTAs and an Emmy for her part in the show, which first aired in 1991.
After taking a seven-year break from the role, she returned and starred in Prime Suspect series six in 2003 and in Prime Suspect: The Final Act in 2006.
Over the course of her decades-long career, the actress received four Academy Award nominations including for 1994's The Madness Of King George and 2001's Gosford Park.
It was not until 2007 when she picked up the best actress Oscar for her regal role in The Queen, a film which follows Queen Elizabeth II in the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana.
Starring alongside Michael Sheen and James Cromwell, the performance won Dame Helen a string of accolades including a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice Film Festival.
That year she also picked up a Golden Globe for the TV series Elizabeth I after receiving her first prize in 1997 for the TV film Losing Chase.
She is also known for starring in the 2003 US TV movie The Roman Spring Of Mrs Stone, and in Calendar Girls alongside Julie Walters and Celia Imrie.
Dame Helen recently reunited with Imrie in the Richard Osman murder mystery film adaptation, The Thursday Murder Club.
The film stars Pierce Brosnan who also plays her on-screen husband in Guy Ritchie's crime drama series Mobland.
Dame Helen married American producer-director Taylor Hackford in 1997 and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 2003 for her services to drama.
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