Helena Bonham Biography

Helena Bonham Carter, actress

Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom

Birthdate: May 26, 1966

Sign: Gemini

Helen Bonham Carter was born in London. Her father, Raymond, was a banker. Her mother, Elena (née Propper de Callejón), is a psychotherapist. She attended Southampton High School, then Westminster School. She was denied entrance to King's College at Cambridge University. The administrators feared she would drop out to pursue an acting career and they were right.

In 1979, at age 13, Bonham Carter won a writing contest. She used the prize money to place an ad in the actor directory spotlight. She got her first job when she was 16, doing a commercial. She then got a minor role in a film called "A Pattern of Roses" (1983) and then starred in a film called "Lady Jane" (1984).

Her career wouldn't take off until 1986. She had a breakout performance in the Merchant-Ivory film "A Room With A View," co-starring with Dames Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. "Lady Jane" was also released to cash in on this. Bonham Carter used this opportunity to parlay a steady role in the TV show "Miami Vice," playing the girlfriend of series star Don Johnson.

Through most of the 1980s and 1990s, she earned a reputation of being a "corset queen," i.e. starring in a number of costume drama/romances. This list includes films such as "Maurice" (1987), "La Maschera" (1988), "Hamlet" (1990), "Howard's End" (1992), Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" (1996), Henry James' "The Wings of a Dove" (1997) and the high fantasy film "Merlin" (1998).

With the new millennium, her career took an interesting change. It was at this time she met, and would eventually set domestic relations with, director Tim Burton. They had a child, Billy Ray, together.

Her roles became more eccentric and/or daring, including the TV series "Carnivale" (2000) and the movie "Fight Club" (1999). She also starred in a number of Burton-created films, including the remake of "Planet of the Apes" (2001), "Big Fish" (2003), "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005) and "Sweeney Todd" (2007). She also voiced the title character of Burton's animated feature film "The Corpse Bride" and Lady Campunella in the Aardman's "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (both 2005).

She has capitalized on this reputation for eccentric yet engrossing roles to her incredible benefit. She has a recurring role in the Harry Potter films, as instructor Bellatrix Lestrange. She, husband Burton and actor Johnny Depp also have a few movies in the works, among them the animated "Alice In Wonderland" (2010).