Helen Elizabeth McCrory OBE (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in The Importance of Being Earnest in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe, Olivia in Twelfth Night and Rosalind in As You Like It in the West End.
Helen McCrory OBE | |
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![]() McCrory in 2017 | |
Born | Helen Elizabeth McCrory (1968-08-17)17 August 1968 Paddington, London, England |
Died | 16 April 2021(2021-04-16) (aged 52) Tufnell Park, London, England |
Alma mater | Drama Centre London |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1990–2021 |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
McCrory portrayed Cherie Blair in both The Queen (2006) and The Special Relationship (2010), alongside Michael Sheen who also portrayed husband and Prime Minister Tony Blair in both. She also portrayed Françoise in the film Charlotte Gray (2001), the dark anti-heroine Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films (2009, 2010, 2011), Mama Jeanne in Martin Scorsese's family film Hugo (2011), Clair Dowar in the James Bond film Skyfall (2012), Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders (2013–2019), Emma Banville in Fearless (2017) and Kathryn Villiers in MotherFatherSon (2019).
McCrory was born on 17 August 1968 in Paddington, London.[1][2] Her mother, Ann (née Morgans), is a Welsh physiotherapist,[3] and her father, Iain McCrory (born 29 March 1940), is a diplomat from Glasgow; they were married in 1968.[4] She was the eldest of three children.[5]
She was educated at Queenswood School near Hatfield, Hertfordshire,[6] then spent a year living in Italy. Upon her return to Britain, she began studying acting at the Drama Centre in London.[7][8]
McCrory won third prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her 1993 performance as Rose Trelawny in Trelawny of the 'Wells' at the National Theatre.[9] In 2002, she was nominated for a London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress (for playing Elena in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse).[10] She was later nominated for a 2006 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for her role as Rosalind in As You Like It in the West End.[7] In April 2008, McCrory made a "compelling" Rebecca West in a production of Ibsen's Rosmersholm at the Almeida Theatre, London.[11] She appeared in Charles II: The Power and The Passion (2003), as Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and in supporting roles in such films as Interview with the Vampire (1994), Charlotte Gray (2001), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) and Casanova (2005). In The Queen (2006), she played Cherie Blair, a role she reprised in Peter Morgan's follow-up The Special Relationship (2010).[7][8]
She appeared in a modernised television adaptation of Frankenstein (2007). Her first pregnancy forced her to pull out of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), in which she had been cast as Bellatrix Lestrange (she was replaced by Helena Bonham Carter). McCrory was later cast as Bellatrix's sister Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released in July 2009.[12][13] She reprised her role in the final films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. She also played the principal villain role of Rosanna Calvierri in the 2010 episode "The Vampires of Venice" of the BBC television series Doctor Who.[8]
McCrory starred in The Last of the Haussmans at the Royal National Theatre, which began 12 June 2012. The production was broadcast to cinemas around the world on 11 October 2012 through the National Theatre Live programme.[14] In 2013, McCrory narrated poetry for The Love Book App, an interactive anthology of love literature developed by Allie Byrne Esiri.[15] Again in 2013, she played Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at the Little Angel Theatre. The same year, she started playing Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders.[8] In 2014, McCrory played the title role in the National Theatre's production of Medea, directed by Carrie Cracknell. Also in 2014, she made a guest appearance on the TV series Penny Dreadful. She returned as a regular for the show's second season, playing the main antagonist.[7][8] In August 2016, McCrory was confirmed to play Emma Banville in ITV drama series Fearless, which began airing in June 2017.[16]
In 2019, McCrory appeared as Kathryn Villiers in Tom Rob Smith’s MotherFatherSon alongside Richard Gere and Billy Howle.[17] It averaged 2.69 million viewers.[18]
On 4 July 2007, McCrory married actor Damian Lewis;[19] the couple had a daughter, Manon, and a son, Gulliver.[20] Their main home was in Tufnell Park, North London, and they had another near Sudbury in Suffolk.[21]
McCrory served as an honorary patron of the London children's charity Scene & Heard.[22] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her husband supported Feed NHS, a programme to give food from high-street restaurants to NHS staff, and had raised £1 million for the charity by early April 2020.[23]
McCrory was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama.[24]
McCrory died of breast cancer at her home in London on 16 April 2021, aged 52.[25][26][27] Announcing the death on Twitter, husband Damian Lewis stated that she had died "peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family."[28][29] She had kept her diagnosis private and very few people knew of her illness before her death.[30]
She was filming for season 6 of Peaky Blinders at the time of her death. As she could not complete her scenes, the storyline had to be altered, and the production was forced to reshoot certain parts.[31] Other than Peaky Blinders, her last appearances include the 2016 production of The Deep Blue Sea at the National Theatre, one episode of the show Have I Got News For You in 2019, and the 2020 ITV drama Quiz.[30]
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Interview with the Vampire | 2nd Mistress | [32] | |
1994 | Uncovered | Lola | [33] | |
1997 | The James Gang | Bernadette James | [34] | |
1998 | Dad Savage | Chris | [35] | |
2000 | Hotel Splendide | Lorna Bull | [36] | |
2001 | Charlotte Gray | Francoise | [37] | |
2002 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Valentina Villefort | [25] | |
2002 | Deep Down | Dana | Short film | [38] |
2003 | Does God Play Football | Sarah Ward | Short film | [39] |
2004 | Enduring Love | Mrs. Logan | [40] | |
2005 | Casanova | Casanova's Mother | [36] | |
2006 | Normal for Norfolk | Clare | Short film | [41] |
2006 | The Queen | Cherie Blair | [25] | |
2007 | Becoming Jane | Mrs. Radcliffe | [36] | |
2008 | Flashbacks of a Fool | Peggy Tickell | [42] | |
2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Narcissa Malfoy | [28] | |
2009 | Fantastic Mr. Fox | Mrs. Bean (voice) | [43] | |
2010 | 4.3.2.1. | Mrs. Jones | [44] | |
2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | Narcissa Malfoy | [28] | |
2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | [28] | ||
2011 | Hugo | Mama Jeanne (Jehanne D'Alcy) | [45] | |
2012 | Flying Blind | Dr. Frankie Lethbridge | [46] | |
2012 | Skyfall | Clair Dowar MP | [47] | |
2014 | A Little Chaos | Madame Françoise Le Nôtre | [36] | |
2015 | The Woman in Black: Angel of Death | Jean Hogg | [36] | |
2015 | Bill | Queen Elizabeth I | [36] | |
2016 | Their Finest | Sophie Smith | [48] | |
2017 | Loving Vincent | Louise Chevalier (voice) | [49] | |
2021 | Charlotte | Paula Lindberg-Salomon (voice) | Posthumous release | [50] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Full Stretch | Vicki Goodall | Episode: "Risky Business" | [51] |
1993 | Performance | Jean Rice | Episode: "The Entertainer" | [52] |
1995 | Screen Two | Jo | Episode: "Streetlife" | [51] |
1995 | Dirty Old Town | Claire | Television film | [53] |
1996 | The Fragile Heart | Nicola Pascoe | 3 episodes | [44] |
1996 | Witness Against Hitler | Freya von Moltke | Television film | [44] |
1997 | Trial & Retribution | Anita Harris | 2 episodes | [54] |
1998 | Spoonface Steinberg | Mother | Television film | [44] |
1998 | Stand and Deliver | Christina | Television special | [44] |
1999 | Split Second | Angie Anderson | Television film | [44] |
2000 | Anna Karenina | Anna Karenina | 4 episodes | [36] |
2000 | North Square | Rose Fitzgerald | 10 episodes | [51] |
2001 | In a Land of Plenty | Mary Freeman | 3 episodes | [44] |
2002 | The Jury | Rose Davies | 6 episodes | [44] |
2002 | Dickens | Kate Dickens | 3 episodes | [44] |
2002 | Dead Gorgeous | Antonia Ashton | Television film | [36] |
2003 | Lucky Jim | Margaret Peel | Television film | [44] |
2003 | Carla | Carla French | Television film | [44] |
2003 | Charles II: The Power and the Passion | Lady Castlemaine (Barbara Villiers) | 4 episodes | [44] |
2004 | Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking | Jenny Vandeleur | Television film | [44] |
2005 | Messiah: The Harrowing | Dr. Rachel Price | 3 episodes | [44] |
2007 | Frankenstein | Dr. Victoria Frankenstein | Television film | [44] |
2009 | Life | Amanda Puryer | 5 episodes | [55] |
2010 | Doctor Who | Rosanna Calvierri | Episode: "The Vampires of Venice" | [8] |
2010 | The Special Relationship | Cherie Blair | Television film | [8] |
2011 | Phineas and Ferb | Lucy Fletcher (voice) | Episode: "My Fair Goalie" | [56] |
2012 | We'll Take Manhattan | Lady Clare Rendlesham | Television film | [44] |
2012 | Leaving | Julie Ranmore | 3 episodes | [44] |
2013–2022 | Peaky Blinders | Polly Gray | 30 episodes | [36] |
2014 | Inside No. 9 | Tabitha | Episode: "The Harrowing" | [8] |
2014 | Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This | Mary Kay | Television film | [57] |
2014–2015 | Penny Dreadful | Evelyn Poole (Madame Kali) | 12 episodes | [36] |
2017 | Fearless | Emma Banville | 6 episodes | [5] |
2019 | MotherFatherSon | Kathryn Villiers | 8 episodes | [52] |
2019 | Have I Got News for You | Herself (host) | Episode #58.7 | [58] |
2019–2020 | His Dark Materials | Stelmaria (voice) | 4 episodes | [8] |
2020 | Quiz | Sonia Woodley QC | 2 episodes | [36] |
2020 | Roadkill | Dawn Ellison | Main cast | [8] |
Year | Title | Role | Venue(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Gwendolen Fairfax | Harrogate Theatre | [59] |
1990 | Teechers | Gail Saunders | Harrogate Theatre | [7] |
1990 | Macbeth | Witch | Riverside Studios | [7] |
1991 | Pride and Prejudice | Lydia Bennet | [60] | |
1991 | Blood Wedding | The Bride | [61] | |
1992 | Fuente Ovejuna | Jacinta | [62] | |
1992 | Don't Fool With Love | Camille | [63] | |
1993 | Trelawny of the 'Wells' | Rose Trelawny | [7] | |
1994 | Venice Preserved | Belvidera | Royal Exchange Theatre | [62] |
1994 | The Seagull | Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya | Olivier Theatre | [64] |
1994–1995 | The Devil's Disciple | Judith Anderson | National Theatre | [65] |
1995 | Keely And Du | Keely | Olympia Theatre | [62] |
1995 | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | Shakespeare's Globe | [7] |
1995–1996 | Les Enfants du paradis | Claire "Garance" Reine | Barbican Theatre | [66] |
1998 | In a Little World of Our Own | Deborah | Donmar Warehouse | [62] |
1998 | How I Learned to Drive | Li'I Bit | Donmar Warehouse | [67] |
1999 | The Triumph of Love | Princess Leonide (alias Phocion) | Almeida Theatre | [62] |
2000–2001 | Platonov | Anna Petrovna | Almeida Theatre | [62] |
2002 | Uncle Vanya | Helena Andreyevna Serebryakova (Yelena) | Donmar Warehouse | [7] |
2002 | Twelfth Night | Olivia | Donmar Warehouse | [62] |
2003–2004 | Five Gold Rings | Miranda | Almeida Theatre | [62] |
2004 | Old Times | Anna | Donmar Warehouse | [68] |
2005 | As You Like It | Rosalind | Wyndham's Theatre | [69] |
2008 | Rosmersholm | Rebecca West | Almeida Theatre | [70] |
2010–2012 | The Late Middle Classes | Celia Smithers | Donmar Warehouse | [7] |
2012 | The Last of the Haussmans | Libby Haussmans | Lyttelton Theatre | [71] |
2014 | Medea | Medea | Olivier Theatre | [7] |
2016 | The Deep Blue Sea | Hester Collyer | Lyttelton Theatre | [72] |
Year | Title | Award | Category | Result |
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1991 | Blood Wedding | Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards | Best Actress | Won |
1993 | Trelawny of the 'Wells' | Ian Charleson Award | Best Actress | 3rd place |
1995 | Macbeth | Shakespeare Globe Awards | Richard Burton Award For Most Promising Newcomer | Won |
Streetlife | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Best Actress | Won | |
Royal Television Society | Best Actress | Won | ||
1997 | BAFTA Cymru | Best Actress | Won | |
The Fragile Heart | London Film Critics' Circle | Actress of the Year | Nominated | |
2001 | North Square | London Film Critics' Circle | Best Actress | Won |
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
2002 | Uncle Vanya | Evening Standard Theatre Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
2003 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Nominated | |
WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actress in a Play | Nominated | ||
2004 | Charles II: The Power and The Passion | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated |
2005 | L.A. Television Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
2006 | As You Like It | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actress in a Play | Nominated |
Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
2007 | The Queen | London Film Critics' Circle | Supporting Actress of the Year | Nominated |
2008 | Rosmersholm | Evening Standard Theatre Awards | Best Actress (longlisted) | Nominated |
2011 | The Late Middle Classes | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actress in a Play | Nominated |
2012 | Royal Television Society | Best Actress | Nominated | |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows–Part 2 | Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble Cast | Nominated | |
The Last of the Haussmans | Evening Standard Theatre Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
2013 | Glamour Awards | Theatre Actress of the Year | Won | |
WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Play | Nominated | ||
Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated | ||
2014 | Peaky Blinders | Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programming | TV Series and Serials: Actress | Won |
Crime Thriller Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
Medea | Evening Standard Theatre Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
2015 | Critics' Circle Theatre Award | Best Actress | Won | |
Penny Dreadful | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | |
2016 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
The Deep Blue Sea | Evening Standard Theatre Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actress in a Play | Nominated |
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National libraries | |
Other |
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