The Heartbreaking Death Of Helen McCrory
Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter franchise star Helen McCrory has died from cancer at the age of 52. Her husband, Billions actor Damian Lewis, took to Twitter to share the very sad news on Friday, April 16, 2021.
"I am heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family," Lewis wrote. "She died as she lived. Fearlessly," he continued, before adding, "God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly." Lewis' statement ended with a sweet personal note to McCrory, whom he married in 2007. "Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you," he wrote. In addition to her husband, McCrory is also survived by the couple's two children, Manon and Gulliver (via The Independent).
Helen McCory's career spanned nearly 30 years and included a variety of roles
In addition to portraying the much-loved Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders, Helen McCory played Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2 (via IMDB). Her other roles included voicing Stelmaria in His Dark Materials and playing Madame Kali in Penny Dreadful, Clair Dowar in Skyfall, and the list goes on and on.
During her impressive career spanning almost three decades, she received countless award nominations and wins, including the BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress in Streetlife in 1995, one of her first ever acting gigs (via Starz). She also received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth in the 2017 for her "services to drama," per Birmingham Live.
McCory's death came as a shock to many. According to The Independent, the actor's cancer diagnosis is believed to have been kept private and was not known by the public.