Helen McCrory, the English actor who played Narcissa Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” franchise and Polly Gray in “Peaky Blinders,” has passed away, her husband Damian Lewis announced Friday. She was 52.
“I am heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and powerful woman Helen McCrory has passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family. She died as she lived. Fearless. God, we love her and know how lucky we are to have her in our lives. She sparkled so brightly. Now, little one, take to the air and thank you, ”Lewis wrote on Twitter on Friday.
– Damian Lewis (@lewis_damian) April 16, 2021
The English star also appeared in the James Bond film ‘Skyfall’, Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ and played Cherie Booth, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in ‘The Queen’ and ‘The Special Relationship’.
In addition to her film and TV roles, McCrory began her career on the stage, appearing in more than 25 productions from the 1990s to the mid-2010s. , “Medea” and much more.
She joined the “Harry Potter” family in “The Half-Blood Prince” and played Narcissa Malfoy, the mother of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and wife of Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs). She reprized the role in the two-part finale of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”.
In “Peaky Blinders” she played Polly Gray, aunt to Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and the treasurer of the Peaky Blinders crime family in all five seasons of the British drama. She also appeared in “Penny Dreadful”, “Doctor Who”, “North Square” and lent her voice as a daemon in “His Dark Materials”.
During her theater, television and film career, McCrory has won several awards, including Best Actress at the London Film Critics Circle, the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, the Critics’ Circle Theater Awards, and Theater Actress of the Year at the Glamor Awards. She was nominated for a Critics Choice Television Award and a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for ‘Penny Dreadful’. For her role in “Macbeth” in 1995, she was named the most promising newcomer at the Shakespeare Globe Awards.