Helena Bonham Carter, daughter of Raymond Bonham Carter, a merchant banker, and Elena Bonham Carter (née Propper de Callejón), a psychotherapist, was born in Golders Green, London, England on May 26, 1966 and is the youngest of three children. She is the great-granddaughter of former Prime Minister Herbert H. Asquith and her blue-blooded family tree also contains Barons and Baronesses, diplomats, and a director, Bonham Carter's great-uncle Anthony Asquith, who made Pygmalion and The Importance of Being Earnest, among others. Cousin Crispin Bonham-Carter is also an actor.

After experiencing family dramas that included her father's stroke-which left him wheelchair-bound-and attending South Hampstead High School and Westminster School in London, Bonham Carter devoted herself to an acting career. That trajectory actually began in 1979 when, at age 13, she entered a national poetry writing competition and used her second place winnings to place her photo in the casting directory "Spotlight." She soon had her first agent and her first acting job, in a commercial, at age 16. She then landed a role in the made-for-TV movie A Pattern of Roses, which subsequently led to her casting in the Merchant Ivory films A Room with a View and Lady Jane, which was her first leading role.

Often referred to as the "corset queen" or "English rose" because of her early work, Bonham Carter has continued to surprise audiences with magnificent performances in a variety of roles from her more traditional corset-clad character in The Wings of the Dove and Shakespearian damsels to the dark and neurotic anti-heroines of Fight Club and many of Tim Burton's films. Though consistently a versatile and engaging actress, Bonham Carter has never won a major American film award. However, she has received a number of critical awards and has been nominated for five Golden Globes, an Oscar, a SAG Award, and two Emmys.

Bonham Carter was nominated for a Golden Globe for the fifth time for her role in partner Tim Burton's film adaptation of the Steven Sondheim musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, for which Burton and co-star Johnny Depp were also nominated. Since their meeting while filming Planet of the Apes, Bonham Carter and Burton have made four movies together. They live in adjoining residences in London, sharing a connecting hallway, and have two children: Billy Ray Burton, 4, and Nell Burton, who was born December 15, 2007. Ironically, a mutual love of Sweeney Todd was part of the initial attraction for the pair. Despite that, Bonham Carter has said in numerous interviews that her audition process for the role of Mrs. Lovett was the most grueling of her career and that, ultimately, it was Sondheim who she had to convince that she was right for the role.
Lived with Kenneth Branagh. [1994 - September 1999] Great-granddaughter of H.H. Asquith, British Prime Minister (1908-1916). Cousin of Crispin Bonham-Carter and Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter. Her father was severely paralyzed by botched brain surgery in the 1980s. Speaks French fluently. She was denied admission to King's College, Cambridge University, not because of her grades or her test scores but because school officials were afraid that she would leave mid-term to pursue her acting career. Because of Cambridge's rejection, Helena decided to concentrate fully on acting. She is the granddaughter of Violet Bonham Carter, a Life Peeress in her own right and the niece of Mark Bonham Carter, who was created a Life Peer in his own right as well. Her half-Spanish mother 'Elena Propper de Callejon' is niece of Baroness Liliane de Rothschild, née Fould-Springer. Delivered her first child, a boy, Billy Ray, with boyfriend Tim Burton on October 6, 2003. Engaged to director Tim Burton (October 2001 - present). Planned to return to the West End with an appearance in "Rubenstein's Kiss"; however, the play was delayed because of her busy schedule. The production, also set to star Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet fame, was due to open in November 2004 but has now been postponed. In 2005, her voice appeared in two stop-motion animated films. They were Corpse Bride and Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Both films were nominated for the Academy award for best animated film. The award went to Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. In May 2006, she launched her own fashion line, "The Pantaloonies," with swimwear designer Samantha Sage. Their first collection, called Bloomin' Bloomers, is a Victoriana style selection of camisoles, mop caps and bloomers. The duo are now working on Pantaloonies customized jeans which Helena describes as "a kind of scrapbook on the bum.". Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. Turned down the role of Bess in Breaking the Waves due to the sexual content. The role went to Emily Watson who was nominated for an Oscar for that role. She is the daughter of a prominent British banker and the great-granddaughter of Asquith, the Liberal prime minister. Her brother Edward is married to TV presenter Victoria Studd. Is close friends with Johnny Depp, who often works with her husband, Tim Burton. In fact, Depp is the godfather of her child with Burton, Billy Ray. Was cast as Bellatrix Lestrange after Helen McCrory became pregnant, and would have been nearly full-term when her scenes were shot. She returned to the role for one scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, opposite McCrory as her sister Narcissa Malfoy. Ironically, Carter was able to be in this scene because it was scheduled to be filmed after she gave birth to her own child. She gave birth to her second child, a girl, on December 15th, 2007. She was 41, and her fiancé was 49.