Actress Helen McCrory, known for starring in Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter, has died aged 52.
In a statement posted to Twitter, her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis, said she had been battling cancer.
McCrory starred as matriarch Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders, and played Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films.
She also featured in James Bond film Skyfall, Penny Dreadful and Life.
Most recently she had roles alongside Hugh Laurie in political drama Roadkill and played Charles and Diana Ingram’s defence QC in Quiz.
© PALewis wrote: “I’m heartbroken to announce that after an 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.
“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.”
— Damian Lewis (@lewis_damian) April 16, 2021
Actor Jim Howick, who worked with Helen McCrory and her husband Damian Lewis on the 2015 comedy film Bill, tweeted: “This is so shocking and sad. Helen along with Damien were both terrific fun on Bill.
“She was so generous with her time and her performance. I urge everyone to listen to her Desert Island Disks. What a talent we have lost.”
McCrory was born in Paddington, London, to a Welsh mother and Scottish-born father and was the eldest of three children.
She attended school in Hertfordshire, then spent a year living in Italy, before returning to London to study acting at the Drama Centre.
McCrory and Lewis married in 2007 and share a daughter Manon, born in 2006, and son Gulliver, born in 2007.
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