Helena Bonham Carter



"Helena Bonham Carter is incapable of uttering a single word without charm, unless she has to for a role."

- Roger Ebert

Helena Bonham Carter (born 1966) is an acclaimed and versatile English actress who, for the past decade, has been better known as Tim Burton's girlfriend/leading lady in everything. They met while he was directing The Remake of Planet of the Apes in 2000, and have been together ever since and have two children together. Before that, she was briefly Kenneth Branagh's girlfriend/leading lady; although they only made one film during the relationship (not counting Frankenstein, which was made before they got together). She is the great-granddaughter of British Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith.

Filmography (in alphabetical order)

 * Alice in Wonderland—Iracebeth, the Red Queen
 * Big Fish -- The Witch/Jenny
 * Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—Mrs. Bucket
 * Conversations with Other Women—Woman
 * Corpse Bride—Emily
 * Enid—Enid Blyton
 * Fight Club—Marla Singer
 * Hamlet (the version directed by Franco Zefirelli) -- Ophelia
 * Harry Potter series—Bellatrix Lestrange
 * The Heart of Me—Dinah
 * Howards End—Helen Schlegel
 * The King's Speech—Lady Elizabeth, Duchess of York/Queen Elizabeth, Queen Consort
 * Lady Jane—as Lady Jane Grey (her first leading role)
 * Les Miserables—Mme. Thenardier
 * Mary Shelley's Frankenstein—Elizabeth
 * Mighty Aphrodite—Amanda
 * Novocaine—Susan
 * Planet of the Apes—Ari
 * A Room With A View—Lucy Honeychurch
 * Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street—Mrs. Lovett
 * Terminator Salvation --
 * Till Human Voices Wake Us—Ruby
 * Twelfth Night (the version directed by Trevor Nunn) -- Olivia
 * The Wings Of The Dove—Kate Croy
 * Women Talking Dirty—Cora

Tropes

 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Gets typecasted into this role fairly often. See Harry Potter, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Fight Club.
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita Clothing: Sometimes wears clothes inspired by this style, especially in films where she plays a darker character (Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland come to mind).
 * English Rose: Some of her older roles.
 * Fake American: In Fight Club.
 * Hide Your Pregnancy: She was pregnant during Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
 * Large Ham: Whenever she plays a villainess.
 * Loners Are Freaks: When she was younger.
 * Matzo Fever
 * Mean Character, Nice Actor: Some of her roles have her playing very nasty, cruel and unlikeable characters (Fight Club and Harry Potter stand out). She is, of course, absolutely incapable of being close to any of those traits.
 * Older Than They Look: Would You seriously believe she's 45?
 * Perky Goth: Since Tim's page proclaims him the king, then she is undoubtedly the queen.
 * Platonic Life Partners: With Johnny Depp.
 * Typecasting: Would you believe that once upon a time, she was most famous for playing rosy-cheeked ingenues? Breaking out of one type (read: Fight Club) led to it becoming her new type!
 * What Could Have Been: Was nearly cast as Sarah in Jim Henson's Labyrinth. Was also the first choice for the lead in Breaking The Waves but dropped out due to personal problems with the film's ending.