Helen McCrory OBE |
|
---|---|
Born |
Helen Elizabeth McCrory 17 August 1968 London, England |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1990–present |
Spouse(s) | Damian Lewis (m. 2007) |
Children | 2 |
Helen Elizabeth McCrory, OBE (born 17 August 1968) is an English actress. She portrayed Cherie Blair in both The Queen (2006) and The Special Relationship (2010). She also portrayed Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films; Mama Jeanne in Martin Scorsese's family film Hugo (2011); Clair Dowar in the James Bond film Skyfall (2012); and Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders (2013–).
McCrory was born in Paddington, London. Her mother, Anne (née Morgans), is Welsh, and her father, Iain McCrory, is a diplomat from Glasgow, Scotland. She is the eldest of three children. She was educated at Queenswood, a Hertfordshire boarding school, after which she spent a year living in Italy. Upon her return to Britain, she began studying acting at the Drama Centre in London.
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 (for playing Elena in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse). 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.