English actor Helen McCrory, perhaps best known for playing Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise and Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders, has died of cancer at 52. The news was first shared by McCrory’s husband, Billions actor Damian Lewis, who on Twitter said she died at home.
“I’m 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. 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.”
While Harry Potter and Peaky Blinders are both fairly recent credits, McCrory had worked as an actor since the 1990s beginning in stage productions. Throughout her career, she appeared in more than 25 productions including MacBeth, Pride and Prejudice, As You Like It, Medea, and many more. In 2012, she had a formidable role as Clair Dowar MP in the James Bond movie Skyfall; in 2009, parallel to her Harry Potter role, she showcased a lighter sensibility as the voice of Mrs. Bean in Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox.
It was recently announced that Peaky Blinders will end with Season 6, then continue with a movie, but it’s unclear whether McCrory had filmed anything for either. Executive producer Caryn Mandabach recently indicated the final season “is going to be the best one yet.”
