Miriam Margolyes stars in British Vogue's latest issue alongside a range of other celebrities in honor of Pride Month.
Margolyes, best known for her portrayal of Professor Pomona Sprout in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, bared it all in a nude photoshoot for the outlet to celebrate what it means to be a queer icon.
The 82-year-old was featured alongside the likes of actress Janelle Monáe, singer Rina Sawayama, The Last of Us’s Bella Ramsey, Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa, and House of the Dragon’s Emma D’Arcy, who all graced their very own covers for the special issue.
Dubbed the country's "naughtiest national treasure", the Margolyes posed in a series of risqué snapshots, the cheekiest being a photo of her posing naked with a pair of iced Belgian buns to cover her breasts - a particularly fitting shot for a woman known for her tongue-in-cheek charm.
Margolyes has been known to be somewhat candid often struggling to filter her thoughts, but that's one of the reasons we love her so dearly.
In the interview, the Ladies in Lavender star opened up about what it means to be gay and Jewish while also being in the spotlight.
"I actually find lesbians a bit on the boring side, because they’re a bit heavy-handed about it all," Margolyes admitted.
"I think gay people are very lucky, because we are not conventional, we are a group slightly apart. It gives us an edge. We’re good artists, we’re good musicians," she continued. "And I like being gay. I wouldn’t want to be straight for anything."
However, her sexuality was seemingly a tough pill to swallow for her parents and in turn this made her regret telling them about it.
"I never had any shame about being gay or anything really. I knew it wasn’t criminal because it was me. I couldn’t be criminal," she said, adding that her parents’ reaction was "hurtful" though.
She recalled that her mom made her swear on the Torah that she would never have sex with another woman again, making Margolyes feel instant regret about being so open with them.
"It hurt them and I don’t want to hurt people," she added.
When it came to talking about the current issue about LGBTQIA+ rights and the crisis surrounding regression in some parts of the world, the actress admitted that she was "worried about it all."
"I’m worried about all of it," she said. "I just think England has become a s***-hole. And the government is at the heart of the s***."
She then talked about the lack of compassion for vulnerable people frequently in our conversation saying: "There’s been a moral slide in England into the deep pit of iniquity."
However, despite not being as active in her professional life, she's still a major icon for fans.
"People come up to me and say 'I just love you', and want to hug me. And that is dazzling," she told the outlet.
She then recalled a newspaper calling her "a national trinket, which is very witty and rather cutting actually" before adding: "I’d like to be a national treasure, but I don’t know if I really am."
Oh we can confirm that she is well and truly a national treasure, if not a global one.
Margolyes' Pride feature is now available to read on British Vogue.
.jpg_YW6l54?tr=h-40)
.jpg_YW6l54?tr=h-184)