Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in
blockbusters and
independent films
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
, particularly
period dramas, she has received
various awards and nominations, including a
British Academy Film Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
and an
International Emmy Award
The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sci ...
, in addition to nominations for two
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, four
British Academy Television Awards, five
Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine
Golden Globe Awards.
Bonham Carter rose to prominence by playing Lucy Honeychurch in ''
A Room with a View
''A Room with a View'' is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society a ...
'' (1985) and the title character in ''
Lady Jane'' (1986). Her early period roles saw her typecast as a virginal "
English rose", a label with which she was uncomfortable.
She is best known for her eccentric fashion and dark aesthetic and for often playing quirky women. For her role as Kate Croy in ''
The Wings of the Dove
''The Wings of the Dove'' is a 1902 novel by Henry James. It tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honourable ...
'' (1997), Bonham Carter received a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...
, and for her portrayal of
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in ''
The King's Speech
''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...
'' (2010), she won the
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film.
This award ...
, and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other films include ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' (1990), ''
Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'' (1992), ''
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' (1994), ''
Mighty Aphrodite
''Mighty Aphrodite'' is a 1995 American comedy film written, directed by, and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Mira Sorvino, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Rapaport, and F. Murray Abraham. The screenplay was vaguely inspired by the story of '' ...
'' (1995), ''
Fight Club
''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is d ...
'' (1999), ''
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' (2005), the ''
Harry Potter'' series (2007–2011) as
Bellatrix Lestrange
Bellatrix Lestrange () is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' book series written by J. K. Rowling. She evolved from an unnamed periphery character in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' into a major antagonist in subsequent novels. ...
, ''
Great Expectations'' (2012) as
Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham is a character in the Charles Dickens novel '' Great Expectations'' (1861). She is a wealthy spinster, once jilted at the altar, who insists on wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life. She lives in a ruined mansion wit ...
, ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'' (2012), ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'' (2015), ''
Ocean's 8
''Ocean's Eight'' (stylized onscreen as ''Ocean's 8'') is a 2018 American heist action thriller comedy film directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is both a continuation of and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's ...
'' (2018), and ''
Enola Holmes'' (2020). Her collaborations with director
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...
, her former domestic partner, include ''
Big Fish
''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tim Burton, and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Car ...
'' (2003), ''
Corpse Bride
''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based o ...
'' (2005), ''
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.
The story was originall ...
'' (2005), ''
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (2007) as
Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story ''Sweeney Todd''. Her first name is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although she has also been referred to as Amelia, Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhelmina ...
, ''
Alice in Wonderland'' (2010) as
the Red Queen, and ''
Dark Shadows
''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspo ...
'' (2012).
For her role as children's author
Enid Blyton
Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have b ...
in the
BBC Four biographical film ''
Enid'' (2009), she won the 2010
International Emmy Award for Best Actress
The International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress is an award presented annually by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (IATAS). The award honors the best performance by an actress in a made for-television ficti ...
and was nominated for the
British Academy Television Award for Best Actress
This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. The British Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until ...
. Her other television films include ''
Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald'' (1993), ''
Live from Baghdad
''Live from Baghdad'' is a non-fiction book published in 1992 by CNN producer Robert Wiener about his experiences before the Persian Gulf War, which lasted from August 1990 to February 1991.
It was filmed by Home Box Office
Home Box Office (H ...
'' (2002), ''
Toast
Toast most commonly refers to:
* Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat
* Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken
Toast may also refer to:
Places
* Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States
Books
* '' ...
'' (2010), and ''
Burton & Taylor
''Burton & Taylor'' is a BBC Four TV film directed by Richard Laxton, and based on the legendary acting duo and former husband and wife, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, during their preparation for a 1983 theatrical production of the play, ' ...
'' (2013). From 2019 to 2020, she portrayed
Princess Margaret in
seasons three and
four
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
of
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
's ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
''.
Early life and education
Bonham Carter was born in
Islington,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Her father,
Raymond Bonham Carter
Raymond Henry Bonham Carter (19 June 1929 – 17 January 2004) was a British banker and a member of the prominent Bonham Carter family.
Early life
He was born in Paddington, London, to Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter (1880–1960), a politician and ...
, 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
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
in Washington, DC, during the 1960s.
Her mother, Elena (née Propper de Callejón), is a psychotherapist who is of Spanish and mostly
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
background, and whose parents were diplomat
Eduardo Propper de Callejón
Eduardo Propper de Callejón (Madrid, 9 April 1895 – London, 11 January 1972) was a Spanish diplomat who is remembered mainly for having facilitated the escape of thousands of Jews from Occupied France during World War II between 1940 and 1944 ...
from Spain and painter
Baroness Hélène Fould-Springer.
Bonham Carter's paternal grandmother was politician and feminist
Violet Bonham Carter
Helen Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury, (15 April 1887 – 19 February 1969), known until her marriage as Violet Asquith, was a British politician and diarist. She was the daughter of H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister from 1908 ...
, daughter of
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
, the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...
during the first half of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Bonham Carter has two older brothers,
Edward and Thomas. They were brought up in
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...
and she was educated at
South Hampstead High School
)
, established = as St. Johns Wood School
, closed =
, type = Independent day school
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label =
, head ...
, and completed her
A-levels at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
. Bonham Carter applied to
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
but was rejected.
When Bonham Carter was five, her mother had a serious
nervous breakdown
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...
, from which she needed three years to recover. Soon afterwards, her mother's experience in therapy led her to become a psychotherapist, herself. Bonham Carter has since paid her to read her scripts and deliver opinions on the characters' psychological motivations.
[Liam Lacey, "'English rose' blossoms into other roles", 18 January 1996, ''The Globe and Mail'', D1] Five years after her mother's recovery, her father was diagnosed with
acoustic neuroma
A vestibular schwannoma (VS), also called acoustic neuroma, is a benign tumor that develops on the vestibulocochlear nerve that passes from the inner ear to the brain. The tumor originates when Schwann cells that form the insulating myelin sheath ...
. He suffered complications during an operation to remove the tumour, which led to a stroke leaving him half-paralysed and using a wheelchair.
[Valerie Grove, "How Helena Grew Up in a Violet Shadow", ''The Times'', 10 May 1996] 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
''The Theory of Flight'' is a 1998 British comedy-drama film directed by Paul Greengrass from a screenplay written by Richard Hawkins. It stars Helena Bonham Carter and Kenneth Branagh.
It premiered at the 23rd Toronto International Film Fest ...
''. He died in January 2004.
Career
Early work and breakthrough (1980s–1990s)
Bonham Carter, who has no formal acting training,
entered the field winning a national writing contest (1979) and used the money to pay for her entry into the actors' ''Spotlight'' directory. She made her professional acting debut at the age of 16 in a television commercial. She also had a minor part in the 1983 TV film ''
A Pattern of Roses''.
Bonham Carter's first lead film role was as
Lady Jane Grey in ''
Lady Jane'' (1986), which was given mixed reviews by critics. Her breakthrough role was as Lucy Honeychurch in ''
A Room with a View
''A Room with a View'' is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society a ...
'' (1985), an adaptation of
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
's
1908 novel, which was filmed after ''Lady Jane'', but released two months earlier. She also appeared in episodes of ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...
'' as
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
's love interest during the 1986–87 season, and then in 1987 with
Dirk Bogarde in ''
The Vision'',
Stewart Granger in ''
A Hazard of Hearts
''A Hazard of Hearts'' is a 1987 made-for-television romantic drama film starring Helena Bonham Carter in one of her first major roles. It is based on a 1949 novel by Barbara Cartland.
Plot
Sir Giles Staverley, a compulsive gambler, is tricked i ...
'', and
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...
in ''
Getting It Right''. Bonham Carter was originally cast in the role of Bess McNeill in ''
Breaking the Waves
''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier and starring English stage actress Emily Watson as her feature film acting debut. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 197 ...
'', but backed out during production owing to "the character's painful psychic and physical exposure", according to
Roger Ebert.
[ Roger Ebert, "British Film Likely to Win The Top Award at Cannes", ''Chicago Sun-Times'', 20 May 1996, p. 40] The role went to
Emily Watson
Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar Wa ...
, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance.
Her early films led to her being typecast as a "
corset queen" and "
English rose", playing pre- and early 20th century characters, particularly in
Merchant Ivory
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
films.
Uncomfortable with this image, she states: "I looked, as someone said, like a bloated chipmunk".
In 1994, Bonham Carter appeared in a dream sequence during the second series of the British sitcom ''
Absolutely Fabulous
''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...
'', as
Edina Monsoon's daughter Saffron, who was normally played by
Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha (born 9 September 1968) is an English actress who played Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She is also known for her portrayal of Lynda Day, editor of the ''Junior Gazette'', in ''Press Gang'', as ...
. Throughout the series, references were made to Saffron's resemblance to Bonham Carter.
Bonham Carter, who speaks French fluently, starred in a 1996 French film titled ''Portraits chinois''. That same year, she played Olivia in
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...
's film version of ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...
''. One of the high points of her early career was her performance as the scheming Kate Croy in the 1997 film adaption of ''
The Wings of the Dove
''The Wings of the Dove'' is a 1902 novel by Henry James. It tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honourable ...
'', which was highly acclaimed internationally and saw her receive her first Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. Then followed ''
Fight Club
''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is d ...
'' in 1999, in which she played Marla Singer, a role for which she won the 2000
Empire Award for Best British Actress
The Empire Award for Best British Actress was an Empire Award presented annually by the British film magazine ''Empire'' to honor a British actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role, while working within the film in ...
.
Worldwide recognition and blockbuster films (2000s–2020s)
![Helena Bonham Carter 2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Helena_Bonham_Carter_2005.jpg)
In August 2001, she was featured in ''
Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine
** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition
** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition
*Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
''. She played her second Queen of England when she was cast as
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
in the ITV1 miniseries ''
Henry VIII''; however, her role was restricted, as she was pregnant with her first child at the time of filming.
["Day & Night," Kathryn Spencer, Julie Carpenter and Kate Bohdanowicz, 24 September 2003, ''The Express'', p 36] In 2005, she voiced Lady Tottingham, a wealthy aristocratic spinster in the 2005 stop-motion animated comedy ''
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit''. Starring alongside
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
and
Peter Sallis
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
, the film serves as part of the
Wallace and Gromit
''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...
series.
She was a member of the
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over t ...
jury that unanimously selected ''
The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' as best film. In May 2006, Bonham Carter launched her own fashion line, "The Pantaloonies", with swimwear designer Samantha Sage. Their first collection, called Bloomin' Bloomers, is a
Victorian style selection of
camisoles
A camisole is a sleeveless undergarment or innerwear typically worn by women, normally extending to the waist. The camisole is usually made of satin, nylon, silk, or cotton.
Historical definition
Historically, ''camisole'' referred to jackets ...
,
mob cap
A mobcap (or mob cap or mob-cap) is a round, gathered or pleated cloth (usually linen) bonnet consisting of a caul to cover the hair, a frilled or ruffled brim, and (often) a ribbon band, worn by married women in the 18th and early 19th centurie ...
s, and
bloomers
Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...
. The duo worked on Pantaloonies customised jeans, which Bonham Carter describes as "a kind of scrapbook on the bum".
Bonham Carter played the evil witch
Bellatrix Lestrange
Bellatrix Lestrange () is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' book series written by J. K. Rowling. She evolved from an unnamed periphery character in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' into a major antagonist in subsequent novels. ...
in the final four
''Harry Potter'' films (2007–2011). While filming ''
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', she accidentally perforated the eardrum of
Matthew Lewis (playing
Neville Longbottom
Neville Longbottom is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' book series. He is described as a round-faced Gryffindor student in the central character Harry Potter's year. Throughout the series, Neville is often portrayed as a ...
) when she stuck her wand into his ear canal.
Bonham Carter received positive reviews as Bellatrix, described as a "shining but underused talent".
She played
Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story ''Sweeney Todd''. Her first name is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although she has also been referred to as Amelia, Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhelmina ...
,
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Stre ...
's (
Johnny Depp) amorous accomplice, in the film adaptation of
Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical, ''
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', directed by Burton.
Bonham Carter received a nomination for the
Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance. She won the Best Actress award in the 2007
Evening Standard British Film Awards
The Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by London's ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent," judged by a panel of "top UK critics." Each ceremony ...
for her performances in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''
Conversations With Other Women
''Conversations with Other Women'' is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Hans Canosa, written by Gabrielle Zevin, starring Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter. The film won Best Actress for Bonham Carter at the 2005 Tokyo International Fi ...
'', along with another Best Actress award at the
2009 Empire Awards. Bonham Carter also appeared in the fourth ''
Terminator
Terminator may refer to:
Science and technology
Genetics
* Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription
* Terminator technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation s ...
'' film, entitled ''
Terminator Salvation
''Terminator Salvation'' is a 2009 American military science fiction action film directed by McG and written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris. It is the fourth installment of the ''Terminator'' franchise and serves as a sequel to '' Termi ...
'', playing a small but pivotal role as a personification of
Skynet.
![Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter filming (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Colin_Firth_and_Helena_Bonham_Carter_filming_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In 2009, Bonham Carter was the mother squirrel narrator in the
30-minute animated film adaptation of the best-selling children's book ''
The Gruffalo
''The Gruffalo'' is a British children's picture book by author Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Its tells the story of a mouse taking a walk in the woods and deceiving different predators, including the Gruffalo. ''The Gruf ...
'', which was broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on 25 December 2009. Bonham Carter joined the cast of Tim Burton's 2010 film, ''Alice in Wonderland'', as the
Red Queen.
She appears alongside
Johnny Depp,
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...
,
Mia Wasikowska
Mia Wasikowska ( ; born 25 October 1989) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama '' All Saints'' in 2004, followed by her feature film debut in ''Suburban Mayhem'' (2006). She first became known to ...
,
Crispin Glover
Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors' ...
, and Harry Potter co-star
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...
. Her role was an amalgamation of
the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen.
In early 2009, Bonham Carter was named one of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
''s top-10 British Actresses of all time, along with fellow actresses
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
,
Helen Mirren,
Maggie Smith,
Julie Andrews, and
Audrey Hepburn.
In 2010, Bonham Carter played
Queen Elizabeth in the film ''
The King's Speech
''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...
.'' , she had received numerous plaudits and praise for her performance, including nominations for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film.
This award ...
and the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She won her first BAFTA Award, but lost the Academy Award to
Melissa Leo
Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Critics' Choice A ...
for ''
The Fighter
''The Fighter'' is a 2010 American biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of professional boxer Mi ...
''.
Bonham Carter signed to play author
Enid Blyton
Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have b ...
in the
BBC Four television
biopic, ''
Enid''. It was the first depiction of Blyton's life on the screen; she starred with
Matthew Macfadyen and
Denis Lawson. She received her first Television
BAFTA Nomination for Best Actress, for ''Enid''. In 2010, she starred with
Freddie Highmore
Alfred Thomas Highmore (born 14 February 1992) is an English actor. He is known for his starring roles beginning as a child, in the films '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' (2005), '' August Rush'' (2007), and ...
in the
Nigel Slater
Nigel Slater (born 9 April 1956) is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written a column for ''The Observer Magazine'' for over a decade and is the principal writer for the ''Observer Food Monthly'' supplement. Prior to ...
biopic ''
Toast
Toast most commonly refers to:
* Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat
* Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken
Toast may also refer to:
Places
* Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States
Books
* '' ...
'', which was filmed in the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
and received a gala at the 2011
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
. She received the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year from
BAFTA LA in 2011.
![Helena Bonham Carter (Berlin Film Festival 2011)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Helena_Bonham_Carter_%28Berlin_Film_Festival_2011%29.jpg)
In 2012, she appeared as the eccentric, jilted bride
Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham is a character in the Charles Dickens novel '' Great Expectations'' (1861). She is a wealthy spinster, once jilted at the altar, who insists on wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life. She lives in a ruined mansion wit ...
—one of the most potent figures in Victorian gothic fiction—in
Mike Newell's
adaptation of the
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
novel ''
Great Expectations''. In April 2012, she appeared in
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...
's
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for his single "Out of the Game", featured on the album of
the same name. She co-starred in a
film adaptation of the musical ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'', released in 2012. She played the role of
Madame Thénardier Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ( ...
.
On 17 May 2012, Bonham Carter was announced to be appearing in the 2013 adaptation (entitled ''
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet'') of
Reif Larsen
Reif Larsen (born 1980) is an American author, known for '' The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet'', for which '' Vanity Fair'' claimed Larsen received just under a million dollars as an advance from Penguin Press following a bidding war between ten ...
's book ''
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet''. Her casting was announced alongside that of
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actor and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, includ ...
,
Kyle Catlett
Kyle Catlett (born November 16, 2002) is an American child actor from Morristown, New Jersey.
Catlett has appeared in the television series ''The Following'' as "Joey Matthews". He made his feature film acting debut in a 2013 adventure drama film ...
and
Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie (born 14 September 1960) is a British-born Canadian actor who started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski on the television series '' Due South'' was his firs ...
, with
Jean-Pierre Jeunet directing. She also appeared in a short film directed by
Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...
for the clothing brand
Prada. The short was entitled ''
A Therapy'' and she appeared as a patient of
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...
's therapist.
In 2013, she played Red Harrington, a peg-legged brothel madam, who assists Reid and Tonto in locating Cavendish, in the movie ''
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture.
He first appeared in 1933 in ...
''. Also that year, Bonham Carter narrated poetry for ''The Love Book App'', an interactive anthology of love literature developed by
Allie Byrne Esiri. Also in 2013, Bonham Carter appeared as
Elizabeth Taylor, alongside
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), ...
as
Richard Burton
Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
, in BBC4's ''
Burton & Taylor
''Burton & Taylor'' is a BBC Four TV film directed by Richard Laxton, and based on the legendary acting duo and former husband and wife, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, during their preparation for a 1983 theatrical production of the play, ' ...
'', which premiered at the 2013
Hamptons International Film Festival
The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...
. She played the Fairy Godmother in the 2015
live-action re-imagining of
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
's ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
''.
In 2016, Bonham Carter reprised her role of the Red Queen in ''
Alice Through the Looking Glass
''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...
''. In June 2018, she starred in a spin-off of the ''
Ocean's Eleven
''Ocean's Eleven'' is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The ...
'' trilogy, titled ''
Ocean's 8
''Ocean's Eight'' (stylized onscreen as ''Ocean's 8'') is a 2018 American heist action thriller comedy film directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is both a continuation of and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's ...
'', alongside
Sandra Bullock,
Cate Blanchett,
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...
, and
Sarah Paulson
Sarah Catharine Paulson (born December 17, 1974) is an American actress. She began her acting career in New York City stage productions before starring in the short-lived television series ''American Gothic (1995 TV series), American Gothic'' ...
. She plays an older
Princess Margaret—whom Bonham Carter knew in person through her uncle
Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* F ...
—for the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
series ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
'', replacing
Vanessa Kirby
Vanessa Nuala Kirby (born 18 April 1988) is an English actress. She has received several accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Born in London to urologist Roger Kirb ...
, who played a younger version for the first two seasons. In 2020, Bonham Carter starred as Eudoria Holmes in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
film ''
Enola Holmes'', which is based on the Sherlock Holmes adaptation, ''
The Enola Holmes Mysteries''.
Personal life
In August 2008, four of Bonham Carter's relatives were killed in a
safari bus crash in South Africa,
and she was given indefinite leave from filming ''
Terminator Salvation
''Terminator Salvation'' is a 2009 American military science fiction action film directed by McG and written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris. It is the fourth installment of the ''Terminator'' franchise and serves as a sequel to '' Termi ...
'', returning later to complete filming.
In early October 2008, Bonham Carter reportedly had become a
patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of the charity Action Duchenne, the national charity established to support parents and sufferers of
Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe type of muscular dystrophy that primarily affects boys. Muscle weakness usually begins around the age of four, and worsens quickly. Muscle loss typically occurs first in the thighs and pelvis follow ...
.
In August 2014, Bonham Carter was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' 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
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
in regard to the
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on that issue.
Relationships
In 1994, Bonham Carter and
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...
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 the affair, Branagh and Thompson divorced in 1995. In 1999, after five years together, Bonham Carter and Branagh separated.
Thompson has said she has "no hard feelings" towards Bonham Carter, calling her affair with Branagh "blood under the bridge".
She explained, "You can't hold on to anything like that. It's pointless. I haven't got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago. She's a wonderful woman."
Thompson, Branagh, and Bonham Carter all later went on to appear in the ''Harry Potter'' series; Thompson and Bonham Carter both appeared in ''Order of the Phoenix''.
In 2001, Bonham Carter began a relationship with American director
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...
, whom she met while filming ''
Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...
''. Burton cast her in his other films, including ''
Big Fish
''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tim Burton, and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Car ...
'', ''
Corpse Bride
''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based o ...
'', ''
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.
The story was originall ...
'', ''
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', ''
Alice in Wonderland'', and ''
Dark Shadows
''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspo ...
''. After their separation, Bonham Carter said, "It might be easier to work together without being together anymore. He always only cast me with great embarrassment."
Bonham Carter and Burton lived in adjoining houses in
Belsize Park
Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England.
The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...
, London. She owned one of the houses; Burton later bought the other, and they connected the two. In 2006, they bought the
Mill House in
Sutton Courtenay,
Oxfordshire.
It was previously leased by her grandmother,
Violet Bonham Carter
Helen Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury, (15 April 1887 – 19 February 1969), known until her marriage as Violet Asquith, was a British politician and diarist. She was the daughter of H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister from 1908 ...
, and owned by her great-grandfather
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
.
Bonham Carter and Burton have two children together: son Billy Raymond Burton (born 4 October 2003) and daughter Nell Burton (born 15 December 2007).
Bonham Carter has stated that Nell is named after all the "Helens" in her family.
She told ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' of her struggles with
infertility and the difficulties she had during her pregnancies. She said 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 fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...
.
On 23 December 2014, the two announced that they had "separated amicably" earlier that year. Of the separation, Bonham Carter told ''
Harper's Bazaar'': "Everyone always says you have to be strong and have a stiff upper lip, but it's okay to be fragile.... You've got to take very small steps, and sometimes you won't know where to go next because you've lost yourself". She added: "With divorce, you go through massive grief—it is a death of a relationship, so it's utterly bewildering. Your identity, everything, changes."
Since 2018, Bonham Carter has been in a relationship with art historian Rye Dag Holmboe. Holmboe is 21 years her junior. Regarding their age gap, Bonham Carter told ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' in 2019: "Everybody ages at a different rate. My boyfriend is unbelievably mature. He's an old soul in a young body, what more could I want? People are slightly frightened of older women, but he isn't. Women can be very powerful when they're older."
Media image
Bonham Carter is known for her unconventional and eccentric sense of fashion. ''
British Vogue
British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine ''Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Montrose Nast. British ''Vogue'' editor in 2012 c ...
'' described her dark style in clothing and acting as "quirky and irreverent". ''
Vanity Fair'' named her on its 2010 Best-Dressed List
[ and she was selected by Marc Jacobs to be the face of his Autumn/Winter 2011 advertising campaign. She has cited ]Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.
Westwood came to public notice when she m ...
and Marie Antoinette as her main style influences.
In May 2021, Bonham Carter featured in a commercial for British furniture retailer Sofology
Sofology (formerly known as Sofaworks, CSL, Clayton Salerooms, and CS Lounge Suites Ltd), is a British furniture retailer specialising in sofas.
History
Sofology started out as CSL Sofas, and was originally an auction rooms based in Clayton-le-M ...
, taking viewers through the quirks and stylistic flourishes of her home. In 2021, she wrote an article for '' Harper's Bazaar'' on the influence of Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...
's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...
'' on her life since she first read the book as a child: "As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a wannabe Alice", adding, "everywhere I look at home, every view has some reference to ''Alice'': frog footman candlesticks, teacup constructions, a teapot lamp, a chessboard teapot, an oversized pocket watch, undersized doors, bunnies, internal windows that look like mirrors, and mirrors that look like windows".
Ancestry
Paternal
Bonham Carter's paternal grandparents were British Liberal politicians
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and ...
Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter and Lady Violet Bonham Carter
Helen Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury, (15 April 1887 – 19 February 1969), known until her marriage as Violet Asquith, was a British politician and diarist. She was the daughter of H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister from 1908 ...
. Helena is descended on her father's side from John Bonham Carter, Member of Parliament for Portsmouth. Helena's paternal great-grandfather was H. H. Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith and Prime Minister of Britain 1908–1916. She is the great-niece of Asquith's son, Anthony Asquith
Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among oth ...
, English director of such films as '' Carrington V.C.'' and ''The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
'', and a first cousin of the economist Adam Ridley
Sir Adam Nicholas Ridley (born 14 May 1942) is a British economist, civil servant, and banker.
After working at the Foreign Office and the Department of Economic Affairs, he was Director of the Conservative Research Department. With Chris Patt ...
and of politician Jane Bonham Carter.
Bonham Carter is a distant cousin of actor Crispin Bonham-Carter
Crispin Daniel Bonham-Carter (born 23 September 1969 in Colchester, Essex) is an English actor, theatre director, and educator. He was appointed Assistant Head at the Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, in 2019. His best known acting role is that o ...
. Her other prominent distant relatives include Lothian Bonham Carter, who played first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...
for Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, his son, Vice Admiral Sir Stuart Bonham Carter, who served in the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
in both world war
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
s, and pioneering English nurse Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, i ...
.
Maternal
Her maternal grandfather, Spanish diplomat Eduardo Propper de Callejón
Eduardo Propper de Callejón (Madrid, 9 April 1895 – London, 11 January 1972) was a Spanish diplomat who is remembered mainly for having facilitated the escape of thousands of Jews from Occupied France during World War II between 1940 and 1944 ...
, saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, for which he was recognised as Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...
, and posthumously received the Courage to Care Award from the Anti-Defamation League. His own father was a Bohemian Jew
The history of the Jews in the Czech lands, which include the modern Czech Republic as well as Bohemia, Czech Silesia and Moravia, goes back many centuries. There is evidence that Jews have lived in Moravia and Bohemia since as early as the 10 ...
, and his wife, Helena's grandmother, was a Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
convert to Catholicism. He later served as Minister-Counselor at the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Her maternal grandmother, Baroness Hélène Fould-Springer, was from an upper-class Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family; she was the daughter of Baron Eugène Fould-Springer (a French banker descended from the Ephrussi family
The Ephrussi family () is a Ukrainian Jewish banking and oil dynasty. The family's bank and properties were seized by the Nazi authorities after the 1938 "Anschluss", the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany.
History
The progenitor, Charles J ...
and the Fould dynasty) and Marie-Cécile von Springer (whose father was Austrian-born industrialist Baron Gustav von Springer, and whose mother was from the de Koenigswarter family). Hélène Fould-Springer converted to Catholicism after the Second World War. Hélène's sister was the French philanthropist Liliane de Rothschild (1916–2003), the wife of Baron Élie de Rothschild
Élie Robert de Rothschild (29 May 1917 – 6 August 2007) was the guardian of the French branch of the Rothschild family banking dynasty. He followed his father as a partner in the family bank, de Rothschild Frères, and ran the Château Lafi ...
, of the prominent Rothschild family (who had also married within the von Springer family in the 19th century);[Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3415. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.] Liliane's other sister, Therese Fould-Springer, was the mother of British writer David Pryce-Jones
David Eugene Henry Pryce-Jones (born 15 February 1936) is a British conservative author and commentator.
Early life
Pryce-Jones was born on 15 February 1936, in Vienna, Austria. He was educated at Eton and earned a degree in history at Magdal ...
.
Acting credits
Accolades and honours
Bonham Carter has been the recipient of a BAFTA Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...
, a Critics' Choice Movie Award
The Critics' Choice Movie Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Writt ...
, an International Emmy Award
The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sci ...
and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as receiving further nominations for two Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s, nine Golden Globe Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards. She has received other prestigious awards such as a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975.
Background
Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles-based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organiza ...
and two National Board of Review
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
awards.
Bonham Carter was made a CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the 2012 New Year Honours
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
list for services to drama, and Prime Minister David Cameron announced that she had been appointed to Britain's new national Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
Commission in January 2014.
See also
*List of British actors
This list of notable actors from the United Kingdom includes performers in film, radio, stage and television.
Born in 18th century
* Maria Foote (1797?–1867)
* Henry Gattie (1774–1844)
* Elizabeth Hartley (1750?–1824)
* John Phili ...
*List of British Academy Award nominees and winners
This article is a list of British Academy Award winners and nominees. This list details the filmmakers, actors, actresses, and others born and working in the United Kingdom who have been nominated for or have won an Academy Award.
Best Actor in a ...
*List of Jewish Academy Award winners and nominees
This is a list of Jewish winners and nominees of Academy Awards. It includes ethnic Jews and those who converted to Judaism.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Best Actress in a Suppo ...
* List of actors with Academy Award nominations
*
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonham Carter, Helena
1966 births
Actresses from London
Asquith family
Audiobook narrators
People from Islington (district)
Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Helena
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English film actresses
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Czech-Jewish descent
English people of German-Jewish descent
English people of Spanish descent
English radio actresses
English stage actresses
English television actresses
English voice actresses
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
International Emmy Award for Best Actress winners
Living people
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
People educated at South Hampstead High School
People educated at Westminster School, London
People from Golders Green
People from Sutton Courtenay
Fould family
British people of French-Jewish descent