And now aged 60 Dame Helen Mirren will soon portray Queens Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II on

And now aged 60 Dame Helen Mirren will soon portray Queens Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II on television. (Channel 4 will broadcast the first of two episodes of Elizabeth I next Thursday.) Although it was her performance as DS Jane Tennison in the series of Prime Suspect television dramas that made her an international success in the early 1990s, she had already had a singularly distinguished career on the English stage. The business of playing queens is par for the course for a classical actress, but for Helen Mirren there is a special significance. The company has a market value of $8.7bnFamily: Married, no childrenHobbies: Hiking and reading. "[Those] are lifestyle brands and have a certain committed customer that I think Whole Foods has.

They're similar in that all three are perceived as innovative, kind of hip, quality products. I hope that some day Whole Foods is as well-known as Apple and Starbucks. We're certainly not there yet."Whole numbersAge: 52Position: Chairman and chief executivePay: $342,000 (£192,000) plus $118,000 bonus Mr Mackey also owns 1 per cent of Whole Foods' shares. But, just as the discount retailer is famous for having created its own culture, Mr Mackey has developed a corporate ethos, albeit one where everyone is called a "team member" and head office employees greet each other like friends.Despite the relaxed exterior, Mr Mackey has far-reaching ambitions, and Wall Street has likened his brand to that of Apple and Starbucks. It is like complaining that a BMW is more expensive than a Hyundai. Yes, but you're getting a better car."Others say its dominance in the health-food market makes it the "Wheatgerm Wal-Mart" Mr Mackey rejects this.

As a first footstep into the UK last year, it bought the small chain Fresh & Wild.Whole Foods shares have risen from their float price of $4.25 in 1992 to $129 and it has a market value of $8.7bn (£4.9bn). It notched up $137m in profits last year.Some say such healthy profits are generated by charging exorbitant prices, and the company has attracted the nickname "Whole pay check" Mr Mackey is unrepentant. "People say they want the highest-quality food and they support local production and they want organic and they want food to be fresher You can't have it both ways If you want the highest quality, it costs more. Profits as a percentage of sales are the highest of all retailers in the Fortune 500 index, including the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart.

The company is expanding at such a rate that it is doubling in size every three and a half years. Ithas 172 outlets, ranging from smaller stores mainly offering prepared food to full-blown gourmet supermarkets.In the US, Whole Foods' presence is not just on its traditionally liberal east and west coasts, where consumers are most susceptible to its virtuous and luxurious offerings, but also in conservative places such as Kansas and Georgia. Workers are paid for the community work they do, and there is a cap on anyone - including Mr Mackey - being paid more than 14 times the group's average salary. "There is no inherent reason why business cannot be ethical, socially responsible and profitable. In fact all businesses should be ethical and socially responsible and profitable."Investors certainly cannot complain.

Mr Mackey obviously does believe strongly in the ethical side of the business. The meat sold by Whole Foods, which Mr Mackey prefers to call "dead animals", has to have been treated in a compassionate way which far exceed most organic standards.Whole Foods tries to operate its business in a way which is kind to the environment, with several stores using solar and wind power. It focuses on cutting packaging, and customers are asked whether they want a plastic or paper bag or no bag at all. So does it really help the animals?"Whole Foods does have strict guidelines about making sure its food either meets national organic standards, which ban harmful pesticides and other chemicals, or is as close to its natural state as possible. If I were to leave, the person who took my place would undoubtedly not have the same concern about animal well-being as I do.