Helena Bonham Carter posed in London on 28th May 1986. (Photo by United News)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
1987
Helena Bonham Carter from a photoshoot for British Vogue magazine, 1987. (Photo by Andrea Blanch)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
1988
London, UK
Amanda Donohoe (left) and Helena Bonham-Carter chatting at the launch party for Elle Magazine, London, September 8th, 1988. (Photo by Dave Hogan)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
1991
Helena Bonham Carter during the filming of 'Howards End', London, March 1991. (Photo by Mikki Ansin)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
1992
Helena Bonham-Carter wearing an off the shoulder black top and ivy in her hair, April 1992. (Photo by Terry O'Neill)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2010
25 Rue de Mogador, 75009 Paris, France
Helena Bonham Carter attends the premiere of Tim Burton's film "Alice au pays des Merveilles" at Theatre Mogador on March 15, 2010, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2010
3 Cranbourn St, Leicester Square, London WC2H 7AL, UK
Helena Bonham Carter attends 'The Kings Speech' photocall during the 54th BFI London Film Festival at the Vue West End on October 21, 2010, in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2011
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, USA
Helena Bonham Carter arrives at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 16, 2011, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2011
Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 2, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Helena Bonham Carter attends the 'The King's Speech' Photocall during day seven of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival at the Grand Hyatt on February 16, 2011, in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2013
6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028, USA
Helena Bonham Carter and director Tim Burton arrive at the Oscars at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 24, 2013, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2013
Chalk Farm Rd, Camden Town, London NW1 8EH, UK
Tim Burton and actress Helena Bonham Carter attend 'A Night Of Funk & Soul 2013' for Save The Children UK at The Roundhouse on March 20, 2013, in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2014
King Charles St, Whitehall, Westminster, London SW1A 2AH, UK
Helena Bonham-Carter attends a reception for the Best of Britain's Creative Industries at The Foreign Office on June 30, 2014, in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2015
22-24 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7LQ, UK
Helena Bonham Carter attends the UK Premiere of "Cinderella" at Odeon Leicester Square on March 19, 2015, in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2015
Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG, UK
Helena Bonham Carter holds her original parasol from 'A Room With a View' as she attends a photocall to launch BFI Love at The British Museum on August 27, 2015, in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2015
1 Old Billingsgate Walk (Riverside, 16 Lower Thames St, London EC3R 6DX, UK
Helena Bonham Carter arrives at The Moet British Independent Film Awards 2015 at Old Billingsgate Market on December 6, 2015, in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2016
New York City, NY, USA
Helena Bonham Carter is seen on November 08, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Gardiner Anderson)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2016
New York City, NY, USA
Helena Bonham Carter is seen on location for "Ocean's Eight"s 8' on December 3, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Alessio Botticelli)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2017
60 Simcoe St, Toronto, ON M5J 2H5, Canada
Helena Bonham Carter attends the "55 Steps" premiere during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 15, 2017, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by GP Images)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2018
Kettwiger Str. 36, 45127 Essen, Germany
Helena Bonham Carter arrives for Eleanor & Colette premiere at Lichtburg on April 19, 2018, in Essen, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2018
1941 Broadway, New York, NY 10023, USA
Helena Bonham Carter attends the "Ocean's 8" World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on June 5, 2018, in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2018
5-6 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7NA, UK
Helena Bonham Carter attends the 'Ocean's 8' UK Premiere held at Cineworld Leicester Square on June 13, 2018, in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2019
38 Curzon St, Mayfair, London W1J 7TY, UK
Helena Bonham Carter attends "The White Crow" UK Premiere held at The Curzon Mayfair on March 12, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
2019
Chalk Farm Rd, Camden Town, London NW1 8EH, UK
Helena Bonham Carter attends the Save The Children: Centenary Gala at The Roundhouse on May 09, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
301 Park Ave, New York, NY 10022, USA
Helena Bonham Carter during the "Big Fish" Press Conference with Ewan McGregor, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter and Albert Finney at Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Vera Anderson)
Gallery of Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter (Photo by Aaron Rapoport)
Achievements
Membership
Awards
BAFTA Award
2011
Bow St, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD, UK
Helena Bonham Carter poses with her Best Supporting Actress award in front of the winner's boards at the Orange British Academy Film Awards 2011 held at The Royal Opera House on February 13, 2011, in London, England. (Photo by Dave Hogan)
Screen Actors Guild Award
2011
665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
Helena Bonham Carter poses in the press room during the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at The Shrine Auditorium on January 30, 2011, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz)
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Award
2011
1317 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA
Tom Hooper and Actress Helena Bonham Carter on stage at the Montecito Award Tribute to Geoffrey Rush at the Arlington Theater on January 31, 2011, in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Ray Mickshaw)
Empire Award
86-90 Park Ln, Mayfair, London W1K 7TN, UK
Helena Bonham Carter with her Best Actress award for Sweeney Todd during the Jameson Empire Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29, 2009, in London, England. (Photo by Jon Furniss)
Helena Bonham Carter attends the premiere of Tim Burton's film "Alice au pays des Merveilles" at Theatre Mogador on March 15, 2010, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
3 Cranbourn St, Leicester Square, London WC2H 7AL, UK
Helena Bonham Carter attends 'The Kings Speech' photocall during the 54th BFI London Film Festival at the Vue West End on October 21, 2010, in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein)
Helena Bonham Carter poses with her Best Supporting Actress award in front of the winner's boards at the Orange British Academy Film Awards 2011 held at The Royal Opera House on February 13, 2011, in London, England. (Photo by Dave Hogan)
Helena Bonham Carter poses in the press room during the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at The Shrine Auditorium on January 30, 2011, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz)
Tom Hooper and Actress Helena Bonham Carter on stage at the Montecito Award Tribute to Geoffrey Rush at the Arlington Theater on January 31, 2011, in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Ray Mickshaw)
Helena Bonham Carter arrives at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 16, 2011, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt)
Helena Bonham Carter attends the 'The King's Speech' Photocall during day seven of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival at the Grand Hyatt on February 16, 2011, in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Helena Bonham Carter and director Tim Burton arrive at the Oscars at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 24, 2013, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
Tim Burton and actress Helena Bonham Carter attend 'A Night Of Funk & Soul 2013' for Save The Children UK at The Roundhouse on March 20, 2013, in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett)
King Charles St, Whitehall, Westminster, London SW1A 2AH, UK
Helena Bonham-Carter attends a reception for the Best of Britain's Creative Industries at The Foreign Office on June 30, 2014, in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson)
Helena Bonham Carter attends the UK Premiere of "Cinderella" at Odeon Leicester Square on March 19, 2015, in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett)
Helena Bonham Carter holds her original parasol from 'A Room With a View' as she attends a photocall to launch BFI Love at The British Museum on August 27, 2015, in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson)
1 Old Billingsgate Walk (Riverside, 16 Lower Thames St, London EC3R 6DX, UK
Helena Bonham Carter arrives at The Moet British Independent Film Awards 2015 at Old Billingsgate Market on December 6, 2015, in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips)
Helena Bonham Carter attends the "55 Steps" premiere during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 15, 2017, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by GP Images)
Helena Bonham Carter attends the 'Ocean's 8' UK Premiere held at Cineworld Leicester Square on June 13, 2018, in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby
Helena Bonham Carter with her Best Actress award for Sweeney Todd during the Jameson Empire Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29, 2009, in London, England. (Photo by Jon Furniss)
Helena Bonham Carter during the "Big Fish" Press Conference with Ewan McGregor, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter and Albert Finney at Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Vera Anderson)
Belvedere Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8XT, United Kingdom
James McAvoy attends the BFI London Film Festival Awards during the 58th BFI London Film Festival on October 18, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI)
(Helena Bonham Carter plays a young, independent-minded, u...)
Helena Bonham Carter plays a young, independent-minded, upper-class woman who is trying to sort out her feelings, divided between a free spirit (Julian Sands) she meets on vacation and the bookworm (Daniel Day-Lewis) to whom she becomes engaged back home. Funny, sexy, and sophisticated, this art-house hit features a sublime supporting cast and remains a touchstone of intelligent romantic cinema.
(The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chao...)
The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes. His weak son Edward, is on his deathbed. Anxious to keep England true to the Reformation, a scheming minister John Dudley marries off his son, Guildford to Lady Jane Grey, whom he places on the throne after Edward dies. At first hostile to each other, Guildford and Jane fall in love. But they cannot withstand the course of power which will lead to their ultimate downfall.
(Hugh Grant and James Wilby star in this gorgeous new 4K r...)
Hugh Grant and James Wilby star in this gorgeous new 4K restoration of the Merchant Ivory classic, based on the E.M. Forster novel of unrequited love in pre-World War 1 England.
(While traveling through Italy on an extended vacation, Li...)
While traveling through Italy on an extended vacation, Lilia Heriton (Prime Suspect's Helen Mirren falls for handsome Gino Carella (Fiorile's Giovanni Guidelli) and, against the wishes of her family, decides to stay in Monteriano. Dispatched by self-centered relatives to retrieve her, brother-in-law Philip (Maurice's Rupert Graves) and chaperone Caroline Abbott (Corpse Bride's Helena Bonham Carter) discover startling news that will alter the course of two families forever.
(Named Best Picture of the Year and nominated for nine 199...)
Named Best Picture of the Year and nominated for nine 1992 Academy Awards(r) (including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress), Howards End is a dazzling adaptation of E.M. Forster's classic novel of Edwardian England.
(Robert De Niro heads a stellar cast in this electrifying ...)
Robert De Niro heads a stellar cast in this electrifying re-creation of the story of a young doctorwhose obsession with death leads him to create a new life.
(Mira Sorvino won an Oscar for her performance as a bubble...)
Mira Sorvino won an Oscar for her performance as a bubbleheaded hooker and porn star who happens to be the mother of a bright young boy adopted by a Manhattan couple (Woody Allen and Helena Bonham Carter). The story finds Allen's sportswriter character becoming curious about the identity of his son's biological mom, and he strikes up a relationship with her without revealing why.
(Set in the 1940s in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, it t...)
Set in the 1940s in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, it tells the story of a young girl living in a coal-mining town where the death of men from accidents in "the pit" (the mines) has become almost routine.
("Twelfth Night" - one of William Shakespeare's most wild ...)
"Twelfth Night" - one of William Shakespeare's most wild and raucous romantic comedies - begins when Viola and Sebastian, nearly identical-looking siblings, survive a disaster at sea.
(Highly acclaimed as one of the year's most outstanding mo...)
Highly acclaimed as one of the year's most outstanding movies, Wings Of The Dove is a provocative tale of passion, temptation, and greed. Helena Bonham Carter delivers a stunning, award-winning performance as Kate, a beautiful young society woman whose desire for a common journalist (Linus Roache) presents her with an impossible decision: leave him, or marry.
(Helena Bonham Carter and Kenneth Branagh. Bonham Carter p...)
Helena Bonham Carter and Kenneth Branagh. Bonham Carter plays a woman with motor neurone disease, and the film deals with the sexuality of people with disabilities.
(Opening in late 1930s London prim and proper Madeleine (O...)
Opening in late 1930s London prim and proper Madeleine (Olivia Williams) and free-spirited artist Dinah (Helena Bonham Carter) are attending the funeral of their father. A love triangle begins when Madeline's (Williams) husband, Rickie (Paul Bettany) falls for Dinah (Carter). Ten years later the two sisters meet to sort out their differences.
(To get to know the real man behind the myth, a son begins...)
To get to know the real man behind the myth, a son begins piecing together a true picture of his father from snippets of amazing stories and magical tales of his youth in this brilliantly fantastical movie from the incredible imagination of director Tim Burton.
(Take an unforgettable, uniquely magical journey through d...)
Take an unforgettable, uniquely magical journey through director Tim Burton's deliciously delightful, whimsically wonderful world of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
(When a man and woman flirt with each other at a wedding r...)
When a man and woman flirt with each other at a wedding reception, the sexual tension seems spontaneous. As they break from the party to a hotel room, the flirtation turns into a night filled with passion and remorse.
(Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover th...)
Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest.
(Tim Burton presents a stop-motion animation of a young ma...)
Tim Burton presents a stop-motion animation of a young man who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious Corpse Bride while his real bride waits in the land of the living.
(12-year-old Bernie is ignored by his own family. His obse...)
12-year-old Bernie is ignored by his own family. His obsessive-compulsive father Manny is concerned about the giant supermarket opening opposite his grocery shop, and his mother Esther is too busy worrying about Manny and Alvie, Bernie's mischievous older brother.
(Depp stars in the title role as a man unjustly sent to pr...)
Depp stars in the title role as a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge, not only for his punishment but for the devastating consequences that happened to his wife and daughter.
(An army of Terminators roams the post-apocalyptic landsca...)
An army of Terminators roams the post-apocalyptic landscape, killing or collecting humans where they hide. Connor must decide a stand against the onslaught and meet the enemy head-on.
(Voldemort is tightening his grip on Hogwarts and it is no...)
Voldemort is tightening his grip on Hogwarts and it is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry and Dumbledore work to find the key to unlock the Dark Lord's defenses.
(This enchanting film tells the story of a mouse who goes ...)
This enchanting film tells the story of a mouse who goes in search of a nut. Along the way, three hungry animals that think that the mouse looks good to eat confront him. Forced to rely on his wits for survival, Mouse invents an imaginary monster to scare them away, but what happens when he comes face to face with his own creation?
(The Academy-Award-winning cast and crew take you behind t...)
The Academy-Award-winning cast and crew take you behind the scenes and reflect on the journey of bringing the incredible true story of The King's Speech to life.
(This enchanting film tells the story of a mouse who goes ...)
This enchanting film tells the story of a mouse who goes in search of a nut. Along the way, three hungry animals that think that the mouse looks good to eat confront him. Forced to rely on his wits for survival, Mouse invents an imaginary monster to scare them away, but what happens when he comes face to face with his own creation?
(After being turned into a vampire by a jilted lover, Barn...)
After being turned into a vampire by a jilted lover, Barnabas (Johnny Depp) is entombed for two centuries until he emerges into the very changed world of 1972.
(From the director of Four Weddings And A Funeral comes th...)
From the director of Four Weddings And A Funeral comes this absorbing adaptation of Charles Dickens' beloved novel starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes.
(Hugh Jackman, Oscar-winner Russell Crowe and Anne Hathawa...)
Hugh Jackman, Oscar-winner Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway star in the critically acclaimed adaptation of the epic musical phenomenon that is a timeless testament to the human spirit.
(A ten-year-old cartographer secretly leaves his family's ...)
A ten-year-old cartographer secretly leaves his family's ranch and travels across the country aboard a freight train to receive a prestigious award at the Smithsonian Institute.
(When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps...)
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps their terrible discoveries were recorded by army cameramen, revealing for the first time the horror of what had happened.
(Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep sta...)
Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep star in this powerful drama about the women willing to lose everything in their fight for equality.
(When Alice comes across a magical looking glass and retur...)
When Alice comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland, she discovers that her friend the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) has lost his Muchness and embarks on a perilous race to save him before time runs out.
(Based on Herman Hesse's Francis of Assisi, Francesco depi...)
Based on Herman Hesse's Francis of Assisi, Francesco depicts the life of St. Francis of Assisi and the rise of the Franciscan order that he founded. Starring Academy Award-nominees Mickey Rourke as Saint Francis of Assisi, and Helena Bonham Carter as Saint Claire, Francesco paints an intimate portrait of one of the most beloved and complex figures in the history of religion and civilization.
(The sudden appearance of one man in a world where apes ar...)
The sudden appearance of one man in a world where apes are in charge and humans are enslaved serves as a challenge to the status quo in this exciting sci-fi thriller.
Helena Bonham Carter is a British actress whose dark aesthetic brought flair to roles ranging from period pieces to modern fantasy. She is known for playing Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2. For her role as Queen Elizabeth in The King's Speech, she was nominated for the Academy Award.
Background
Ethnicity:
Helena Bonham Carter has 50% English, 37.5% Ashkenazi Jewish, 6.25% Spanish, 6.25% likely Irish and French ancestry.
Helena Bonham Carter was born May 26, 1966, in London, the United Kingdom. Helena Bonham Carter was born in a well-known noble family. Her father, Raymond Bonham Carter, who came from a prominent British political family, was a merchant banker and served as the alternative British director representing the Bank of England at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., during the 1960s. Her mother, Elena (née Propper de Callejón), is a psychotherapist who is of three-quarters Jewish background, and whose own parents were diplomat Eduardo Propper de Callejón and painter Baroness Hélène Fould-Springer. She has two older brothers, Edward and Thomas.
Her childhood was traumatic. Her mother had a serious nervous breakdown and took three years to recover. Her father suffered complications during a surgery to remove a tumor which left him half-paralyzed. With her brothers at college, Bonham Carter was left to help her mother cope. She later studied her father's movements and mannerisms for her role in The Theory of Flight. She lived with her parents in the family home until her early thirties. She claimed it was simply because she had a very good relationship with them.
Helena took advantage of her mother's origins (half French, half Spanish) and now, she speaks fluently French. But her bilingual experience is not the only gift Helena Bonham-Carter has. She also was a good poetess when she was younger, indeed she participated in a poetry contest in her (tens) and won the prize, which was cash money.
Education
Helena Bonham-Carter was educated at South Hampstead High School and completed her A-levels at Westminster School. At the age of 18, Helena Bonham-Carter decides to take the Oxbridge exam, to attempt Oxford or Cambridge where she planned to study English literature and philosophy. Though Bonham-Carter willed to attempt college, she was denied admission to King's College, Cambridge University, not because of her grades or her test scores but because school officials were afraid that she would leave mid-term to pursue her acting career. Because of Cambridge's rejection, Helena decided to concentrate fully on acting.
When she was ten, Helena's father was hospitalized for a stroke, and a benign brain tumor. While her father was in intensive care, Helena used her money to publish her photograph in a casting directory. In the same period, she was looking for an agent, which she found through the yellow pages. Two years later, she got her first part in a television commercial, playing William Shakespeare’s Juliet in an advertisement for a stereo system.
In 1983 Bonham Carter appeared in her first major role, in the made-for-television movie A Pattern of Roses. Though she intended to pursue a university education, she abandoned that aspiration at the coaxing of director Trevor Nunn and accepted the title role of his film Lady Jane (1986). Around the same time, she was cast in A Room with a View (1985) as Edwardian heroine Lucy Honeychurch, a young socialite who is conflicted by her feelings for two men. The film was widely praised by critics and was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Bonham Carter continued to appear in period roles, playing Ophelia in Hamlet (1990), Helen Schlegel in Howards End (1992), and Elizabeth in Frankenstein (1994).
Things began to change for Bonham Carter in 1995 when she appeared as Woody Allen's wife in Mighty Aphrodite and then had the title role in Margaret's Museum. Bonham Carter's work in the film prompted observers to note that she seemed to be moving away from her previous roles, and although she still appeared in corset movies - such as Trevor Nunn's lush 1996 adaptation of Twelfth Night - she began to enhance her reputation as a thoroughly modern actress. In 1997, she won acclaim for her performance in Iain Softley's adaptation of The Wings of the Dove, scoring a Best Actress Oscar nomination in the process.
After playing a woman stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease opposite offscreen partner Kenneth Branagh in the poorly received The Theory of Flight (1998) and appearing with Richard E. Grant in A Merry War (1998), Bonham Carter landed one of her most talked-about roles in David Fincher's 1999 Fight Club. As the object of Brad Pitt's and Edward Norton's desires, the actress exchanged hair extensions and English mannerisms for a shock of spiky hair and American dysfunction, prompting some critics to call her one of the most shocking aspects of a shocking movie. But Bonham Carter was soon gearing up for another surprising turn in director Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001). If critics were shocked by her unconventional role in Fight Club, they would no doubt be left dumbfounded with her trading of extravagant period-piece costumes for Rick Baker's makeup wizardry as the simian sympathizer to Mark Wahlberg's Homo sapiens' plight.
For, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, a 2005 animated film, Bonham Carter lent her voice to the character Lady Tottington. The film grossed US$192,610,372 world-wide. The actress opened her own fashion line, The Pantaloonies, in collaboration with swimwear designer Samantha Sage, in 2006. Their first collection, called Bloomin' Bloomers, is a Victorian-style range of camisoles and bloomers.
She essayed the character of Enid Blyton, the children's writer, in Enid, a British dramatic television film, first broadcast in 2009 on BBC Four. This was also an award-winning effort.
Bonham Carter starred in the biopic, Toast in 2010, a BBC One adaptation based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by the cookery writer Nigel Slater - she played the role of Joan Potter.
In 2011 Bonham Carter was nominated for a second Academy Award, for her role as Queen Elizabeth alongside Colin Firth’s King George VI in The King’s Speech (2010). The King's Speech is a British epic historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper. It was a major box office and critical success and brought Bonham Carter much fame and appreciation.
She subsequently appeared on-screen as Miss Havisham in a 2012 adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, as the vicious Mme Thénardier in a 2012 film version of the musical Les Misérables, and as an Old West brothel owner in The Lone Ranger (2013).
Also in the early 21st century, she played the villainous, Bellatrix Lestrange, the female Death Eater, in the final four Harry Potter films replacing the original choice Helen McCrory who bowed out after she got pregnant. She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of a mad witch. Bonham Carter evinced more-beneficent qualities as the fairy godmother of the title character in Cinderella (2015). She played a firebrand woman-suffrage campaigner, based on real-life activist Edith Garrud, in Suffragette (2015).
In 2016 she reprised her role as the strangely proportioned Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland in Alice Through the Looking Glass. Bonham Carter then appeared in Ocean’s 8 (2018), a female-driven reboot of the Ocean’s Eleven franchise from the early 2000s. In 2019 she lent her voice to the TV series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, a 10-episode prequel to the 1982 puppet fantasy The Dark Crystal.
She is set to play an older Princess Margaret for the Netflix series The Crown, replacing Vanessa Kirby who played a younger version for the first two seasons.
(The sudden appearance of one man in a world where apes ar...)
Religion
Bonham Carter's grandmother, Baroness Hélène Fould-Springer, was from an upper-class Jewish family, but she made a pact to convert to Catholicism if everyone in her family survives World War II, and now Helena considers herself a Jewish Catholic.
However, she admits that her upbringing was not very religious, despite being brought up in a heavily-Jewish neighborhood.
Politics
Bonham Carter’s involvement in politics has much to do with her friends and relatives. Her great-grandfather, H.H. Asquith, was the Prime Minister of England from 1908 to 1916, her cousin, Jane Bonham Carter is a politician in the Liberal Democrat Party of England, and she’s friends with England’s current Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.
In fact, Bonham Carter’s relationship with Cameron calls into question her overall political views. Bonham Carter supported a Liberal Democrat-Conservative Party coalition initiative to institute an “alternative voting” system in the UK where voters would rank preferred candidates numerically.
In August 2014, Bonham Carter was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. In 2016, Bonham Carter said she was keen on the UK remaining in the European Union in regard to the referendum on that issue.
Views
In early October 2008, Helena reportedly became a patron of the Action Duchenne, the national charitable foundation established to support parents and sufferers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
In January 2014, the British prime minister, David Cameron, announced that Bonham Carter had been appointed to Britain’s new national Holocaust Commission.
Quotations:
"I'm drawn to emotionally damaged characters because there is more to unlock."
"Very early on you figure out that you put your self-esteem in the hands of strangers. There's a different commodity. There's the Helena Bonham Carter that everyone thinks they know, who really has nothing to do with me. But you just have to let that go."
"Everyone always says you have to be strong and have a stiff upper lip, but it's okay to be fragile."
"It's completely absurd that because we have boobs we're not treated the same as someone with a penis."
Personality
Helena Bonham Carter stated in an interview that she kept one of the wands belonging to her character, Bellatrix LeStrange, and as a joke on her son's friends, whenever they decided to make noise or trouble in the house, or if she didn't like one of them, she would get the wand and act as Bellatrix to frighten them back into line.
In preparation for her role as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, she underwent extensive vocal lessons and studied baking. She even used to rehearse her songs while practicing baking techniques to perfect the quick, syncopated rhythm of the music. Throughout the filming of the movie Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, she was pregnant with Tim Burton's second child. She insisted that the filming be done out of sequence as the size of her breasts changed noticeably.
During the filming of the 1999 movie Fight Club, Carter insisted that her makeup artist use left hand to apply all her eye makeup, as she felt her character of Marla Singer was not a person who would be skilled at correctly applying makeup. Before filming the Fight Club, she and Edward Norton considered visiting support groups for the terminally ill, but decided against it, as they felt it was inappropriate.
She based her performance as Marla Singer in the Fight Club, on the later stages of Judy Garland's life. Sometimes, while filming, director David Fincher would even call her as Judy, to help her get into the mindset.
In a scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, in which Hermione (played by Emma Watson) disguises herself as Bellatrix (played by Carter), Watson acted out the scene for Carter, so she would have an idea on how to act as Hermione in that situation.
In an interview in March 2010, she revealed that she has not watched her 2007 movie Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and some other movies too, as she does not like to watch her own performances. However, she added that she "will get round to watching it."
In an interview, Carter revealed that throughout the filming of the movie Great Expectations, she wore only one shoe, as her character of Miss Havisham was described as wearing only one shoe throughout the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens.
Physical Characteristics:
Helena Bonham Carter has a height of 5 ft 2 in or 157 cm, and a weight of 55 kg or 121 lbs. She has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Bonham Carter is known for her unique dressing style that features the generous use of black color and her preference for dark makeup.
Interests
Crafting
Writers
Allie Esiri
Artists
Vivienne Westwood
Connections
In 1994, Bonham Carter and Kenneth Branagh met while filming Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. They began an affair, while Branagh was still married to Emma Thompson, whom he had met in 1987 while filming the BBC Series Fortunes of War and married in 1989. At the time, Thompson's career was soaring, while Branagh was struggling to make a success of his first big-budget film (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein). Following his affair with Bonham Carter, Branagh and Thompson divorced in 1995. However, in 1999, after five years together, Bonham Carter and Branagh also separated.
In 2001, Bonham Carter began a relationship with American director Tim Burton, whom she met while filming Planet of the Apes. Burton subsequently took to casting her in his films, including Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie, and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows. On 23 December 2014, Bonham Carter and Burton announced that they had "separated amicably" earlier that year. After their separation, Bonham Carter mentioned, "it might be easier to work together without being together any more. He always only cast me with great embarrassment."
Bonham Carter and Burton have two children together: son Billy Raymond Burton and daughter Nell Burton. Bonham Carter has stated that her daughter Nell is named after all the "Helens" in her family. Bonham Carter told The Daily Telegraph of her struggles with infertility and the difficulties she had during her pregnancies. She noted that before the conception of her daughter, she and Burton had been trying for a baby for two years and although they conceived naturally, they were considering in vitro fertilization.