Born in Golders Green, London, Helena Bonham Carter comes from a well-heeled
family of aristocrats and politicians; Helena’s great-grandfather H.H.
Asquith was Britain's prime minister from 1908 to 1916. Helena’s pale
skin and classical good looks made her a natural for costume drama.
After graduating from London's Westminster School she attended Cambridge
University only to later rebuff an academic career in favour of acting.
Helena made her screen debut in 1985, playing the ill-fated title character
of Trevor Nunn's Lady Jane. This led to her casting as the protagonist
in the critically acclaimed Merchant/Ivory adaptation of E.M. Forster's
A Room With a View
(1986), the film proved a great critical success, winning eight Academy
Award nominations.
Typecast as a period actress, she next appeared in further period pieces
like Maurice (1987),
Howard's End (1992),
and The Wings of a Dove (1997). In the following years she slowly moved
away from her previous characters to play more contemporary roles, notably
as the dysfunctional Marla in David Fincher's Fight Club (1999), but
also an amorous chimp in Tim Burton's remake of The Planet of the Apes
(2001) and the dentist seducing Susan opposite Steve Martin in Novocaine.
