Hollywood Icon Helen McCrory Loses Battle to Cancer
Image Courtesy of Anthony Byrne
By Renee Rasmussen
English stage and screen star Helen McCrory died on April 16, losing her battle to cancer. Known most prominently for her roles as Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films and as Polly Gray in the popular series Peaky Blinders, McCrory died at her home in North London. She was 52.
The news of her death came as a surprise for many, as McCrory kept her diagnosis a secret.
McCrory’s friend Carrie Cracknell explained in a radio tribute on BBC’s Today programme, “Helen wanted to be very private about her illness and I understand why. When you live in the public spotlight you have to find space to protect the things that are just for you.”
Therefore, when McCrory’s husband and actor Damian Lewis broke the news Friday via Twitter, many friends and co-workers quickly gave their condolences and tributes to the legendary woman who played villains on screen but was a hero in the real world.
Cillian Murphy, McCrory’s co-star in Peaky Blinders, was one of the actors to convey his sorrow over her death, writing “Helen was a beautiful, caring, funny, compassionate human being. She was also a gifted actor — fearless and magnificent. She elevated and made humane every scene, every character she played. It was a privilege to have worked with this brilliant woman, to have shared so many laughs over the years. I will dearly miss my pal.”
McCrory has been a prominent figure in the film and stage world since the 1990s, with her first film role being in Interview With a Vampire in 1992. However, McCrory also made waves in the U.K. theater, gaining a London Evening Standard award for best actress in 2002 for Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and an Olivier Award nomination in 2006 for As You Like It.
McCrory hit her stride when she starred in The Queen, earning her best supporting actress nomination in 2006 from the London’s Critics’ Circle. She then found fame in her role as Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise, after having declined the role of Bellatrix Lestrange in 2007 due to her first pregnancy. However, McCrory is arguably most known today for her role as Polly Gray, the matriarch of the Shelby family in the crime drama Peaky Blinders.
While shorter than expected, McCrory’s time on stage and on screen had a great effect on the Hollywood Community. After winning the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female lead for Promising Young Woman, Carey Mulligan dedicated her award to McCrory.
“She was a true independent spirit and actress that I have looked up to, and will continue to look up to for the rest of my career, Helen McCrory, so thank you to her for everything she gave us,”said Mulligan according to Deadline.
As Hollywood mourns her loss, McCrory’s legacy burns bright even after her death, and is best summed up in her husband Lewis’s tribute to her:
“She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.”
