Helen McCrory


Helen Elizabeth McCrory, is a British actress.
McCrory portrayed Cherie Blair in both The Queen and The Special Relationship. She also portrayed Françoise in the film Charlotte Gray, Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films, Mama Jeanne in Martin Scorsese's family film Hugo, Clair Dowar in the James Bond film Skyfall, Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders, Emma Banville in Fearless and Kathryn Villiers in MotherFatherSon.

Early life

McCrory was born in Paddington in England, UK. Her mother, Ann, is Welsh and her father, Iain McCrory, is a diplomat from Glasgow; they married in 1974. She is the eldest of three children.
She was educated at Queenswood School near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and then spent a year living in Italy. Upon her return to Britain, she began studying acting at the Drama Centre in London.

Career

McCrory won Third Prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her 1993 performance as Rose Trelawny in Trelawny of the 'Wells at the National Theatre. In 2002 she was nominated for a London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress. She was later nominated for a 2006 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for her role as Rosalind in As You Like It in London's West End. In April 2008, she made a "compelling" Rebecca West in a production of Ibsen's Rosmersholm at the Almeida Theatre, London.
She appeared in ', as Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, and in supporting roles in such films as Interview with the Vampire, Charlotte Gray, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Casanova. In The Queen she played Cherie Blair, a role she reprised in Peter Morgan's follow-up The Special Relationship.
She appeared in a modernised TV adaptation of Frankenstein. Her first pregnancy forced her to pull out of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which she had been cast as Bellatrix Lestrange. McCrory was later cast as Bellatrix's sister Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released in July 2009. McCrory reprised her role in the final films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2; McCrory's performance was well received by fans of the books. She also played the principal villain role of Rosanna Calvierri in the episode "The Vampires of Venice" of the BBC television series Doctor Who.
McCrory starred in The Last of the Haussmans at the Royal National Theatre, which began 12 June 2012. The production was broadcast to cinemas around the world on 11 October 2012 through the National Theatre Live programme.
In 2013, McCrory narrated poetry for The Love Book App, an interactive anthology of love literature developed by Allie Byrne Esiri. Again, in 2013 McCrory played 'Lady Macbeth' at the Little Angel Theatre. The same year, she started playing Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders.
In 2014, McCrory played the title role in the National Theatre's production of Medea, directed by Carrie Cracknell. Also in 2014, McCrory made a guest appearance on the TV series Penny Dreadful. She returned as a regular for the show's second season, playing the main antagonist.
In August 2016, McCrory was confirmed to play Emma Banville in ITV drama series Fearless'', which began airing in June 2017.

Personal life

On 4 July 2007, McCrory married actor Damian Lewis. They have a daughter, Manon, and a son, Gulliver. They have homes in Tufnell Park, north London, and near Sudbury in Suffolk.
She is an honorary patron of the London children's charity Scene & Heard.
McCrory was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama.
During the COVID-19 pandemic McCrory and Lewis supported Feed NHS, a scheme to give food from high street restaurants to NHS staff, and had raised £1m for the charity by early April of that year. The initiative started in London but following its success plans were announced to roll it out to other cities in the UK.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

YearTitleAwardCategoryResult
1991Blood WeddingManchester Evening News Theatre AwardsBest Actress
1993Trelawny of the 'WellsIan Charleson AwardBest Actress
1995MacbethShakespeare Globe AwardsRichard Burton Award For Most Promising Newcomer
1995StreetlifeMonte-Carlo Television FestivalBest Actress
1995StreetlifeRoyal Television SocietyBest Actress
1997StreetlifeBAFTA CymruBest Actress
1997The Fragile HeartLondon Film Critics' CircleActress of the Year
2001North SquareLondon Film Critics' CircleBest Actress
2001North SquareBroadcasting Press Guild AwardsBest Actress
2002Uncle VanyaEvening Standard Theatre AwardsBest Actress
2003Uncle VanyaDrama Desk AwardsOutstanding Featured Actress in a Play
2003Uncle VanyaWhatsOnStage AwardsBest Actress in a Play
2004'Satellite AwardsBest Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2005'L.A. Television AwardsBest Actress
2006As You Like ItWhatsOnStage AwardsBest Actress in a Play
2006As You Like ItLaurence Olivier AwardBest Actress
2007'London Film Critics' CircleSupporting Actress of the Year
2008RosmersholmEvening Standard Theatre AwardsBest Actress (longlisted]
2011The Late Middle ClassesWhatsOnStage AwardsBest Actress in a Play
2012The Late Middle ClassesRoyal Television SocietyBest Actress
2012Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows–Part 2Gold Derby AwardsEnsemble Cast
2012The Last of the HaussmansEvening Standard Theatre AwardsBest Actress
2013The Last of the HaussmansGlamour AwardsTheatre Actress of the Year
2013The Last of the HaussmansWhatsOnStage AwardsBest Supporting Actress in a Play
2013The Last of the HaussmansLaurence Olivier AwardBest Actress in a Supporting Role
2014Peaky BlindersBiarritz International Festival of Audiovisual ProgrammingTV Series and Serials: Actress
2014Peaky BlindersCrime Thriller AwardsBest Supporting Actress
2014MedeaEvening Standard Theatre AwardsBest Actress
2015MedeaCritics' Circle Theatre AwardBest Actress
2015Penny Dreadful season 2Satellite AwardsBest Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2016Penny Dreadful season 2Critics' Choice Television AwardBest Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
2016The Deep Blue SeaEvening Standard Theatre AwardsBest Actress
2016The Deep Blue Sea''WhatsOnStage AwardsBest Actress in a Play