Helena Carter

Born May 26, 1966, in London, England. The great-granddaughter of British Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, Bonham Carter enjoyed a privileged childhood.During her teenage years, she modeled for Yardley products and appeared in a number of television commercials, making her acting debut in the British TV movie A Pattern of Roses (1983). In 1985, Bonham Carter landed the lead role in Trevor Nunn�s Lady Jane, a historical film about Lady Jane Grey and her nine-day rule as Queen of England. The 1986 film adaptation of E.M. Forster�s A Room with a View marked her first collaboration with director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. Bonham Carter earned praise for her portrayal of Lucy Honeychurch, while the film garnered eight Academy Award nominations. In 1987, she was introduced to American audiences with appearances in two episodes of Miami Vice followed by the television movie A Hazard of Hearts.

Typecast as the quintessential English heroine, Bonham Carter starred in a slew of period pieces throughout the early 1990s. In Franco Zeffirelli�s Hamlet (1990) she offered a definitive performance as the tragic Ophelia opposite Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991) and the Merchant-Ivory production Howard�s End (1992), both adaptations of Forster novels, featured Bonham Carter in similar antiquated roles.

Bonham Carter gave a notable performance in Kenneth Branagh�s rendering of Mary Shelley�s Frankenstein (1994), before breaking away from her typical projects by taking a turn as Woody Allen�s wife in the urban comedy The Mighty Aphrodite (1995).

She further showcased her range in the role of a foul-mouthed miner�s daughter in the acclaimed Canadian film Margaret�s Museum (1995). In 1996, Bonham Carter returned to Shakespearean drama, opposite Nigel Hawthorne and Ben Kingsley, in Nunn�s opulent comedy of errors Twelfth Night. The following year, she received an Academy Award nomination for her definitive performance as the unscrupulous Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove. In 1998, Bonham Carter reteamed with Branagh to play a woman afflicted with a degenerative disease in the critically panned Theory of Flight. The following year, Bonham Carter took a rather surprising turn as the love interest of Edward Norton and Brad Pitt in the unsettling satire Fight Club.

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