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Happy birthday, Miranda Hart! The charming and relatable comedy queen turns 50 today (December 14), so we're celebrating by making her our British Icon of the Week. Here are 10 reasons why we'll always be #TeamMiranda.

1. She gave us one of the great British sitcoms of recent times.

Hart didn't just star in her semi-autobiographical sitcom Miranda; she also created and co-wrote it. The incredibly infectious show follows her lovable title character as she balances work commitments (Miranda and bestie Stevie (Sarah Hadland) run a joke shop) with wooing handsome Gary (Tom Ellis) and pleasing her overbearing mom Penny (Patricia Hodge). It ran for three seasons and had several specials between 2009 and 2015. It has since been remade as the hit U.S. sitcom Call Me Kat.

2. She was the lovely Chummy in Call the Midwife.

Based on Jennifer Worth's memoirs, this BBC drama series about midwives working in London's tough East End in the 1950s has been a long-running hit. Hart stars in the first four seasons as Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne – "Chummy" for short – a wholesome and enthusiastic trainee who doesn't always quite read the room.

3. She has also shone in a costume drama.

In the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, Hart has a memorable supporting role as the very, very talkative Miss Bates. In one of the movie's most shocking scenes, Hart's character is insulted by Anya Taylor-Joy's title character, who immediately regrets her rather cruel remarks. 

4. She's never afraid to poke fun at herself.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Hart recalled the time she came face to face with actual Prince Harry. Meeting a member of the British royal family is nerve-wracking for anyone, but when Hart tried to lighten the mood with a joke, it didn't quite go to plan...

5. Like her sitcom character, she is always looking for experiences that are "such fun."

Hart grew up watching classic British sitcoms like Fawlty Towers and Are You Being Served? and later realized she wanted to recreate their campy sense of fun. "I just love silliness and I find life quite boring," she told The Guardian a few years ago. "I don't want the responsibility of being an adult – I want to be making fun and lightness out of things. Being told 'don’t be silly' as a child really pissed me off, so I thought: 'OK, I'll be silly for a living then.'"

6. And she has a real gift (and love) for physical comedy.

Case in point: the ridiculous (but such fun) yoga ball stunt she tried during a visit to The Graham Norton Show.

7. She has literally made history.

In 2017, Hart became the first female presenter to host, in its entirety, the U.K.'s prestigious Royal Variety Performance. Ahead of the event, which was attended by Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Hart told the Press Association: "If you don’t mind me I am just going to smash a glass ceiling and be the first woman to host the Royal Variety. That felt good!"

8. She's a terrific stand-up comedian as well.

Hart honed her comedy chops at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a 25-day celebration of comedy, theater, dance, cabaret, and spoken word that takes place each August. She's since gone on to complete a huge U.K. and Ireland stand-up tour called My, What I Call, Live Show. You can check out a clip below.

9. She made lockdown just a little bit easier.

When going out was impossible, Hart played a key role in galvanizing the BBC's The Big Night In special. And because she knew exactly what would cheer up the nation, she gathered a few of her favorite Miranda castmates for the occasion.

10. She knows when it's time to say goodbye.

On the one hand, we would absolutely love to see another season of Miranda. But on the other, Hart's explanation for why she called time on the show makes total sense. “I did consider writing a series four, but the rule of the sitcom is that the main character tries to learn and then they always go back to where they were," she told The Times. "And with this sitcom, it is a woman trying to come into her own and not always achieving that — and as a woman and as a feminist I hate the thought of her not coming into her own, as she becomes older. You never want the audience to pity her. I couldn’t bear the thought of it teetering."

Do you have a favorite Miranda Hart moment?