Helen Elizabeth McCrory OBE (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. She was born in Paddington, London, England. She made her stage debut in The Importance of Being Earnest in 1990.
Other stage roles include playing Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe, Olivia in Twelfth Night, and Rosalind in As You Like It in the West End.McCrory portrayed Cherie Blair in both The Queen (2006) and The Special Relationship (2010). She also portrayed Françoise in the film Charlotte Gray (2001), Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films, and Mama Jeanne in Martin Scorsese’s family film Hugo (2011).
She was educated at Queenswood School near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and then spent a year living in Italy. Upon her return to Britain, she began studying acting at the Drama Centre in London.

On 4 July 2007, McCrory married actor Damian Lewis, and they had a daughter named Manon and a son named Gulliver. They had a home in Tufnell Park, North London; and a second near Sudbury in Suffolk.
— Damian Lewis (@lewis_damian) April 16, 2021
On 16 April 2021, Lewis announced that McCrory had died from cancer at the age of 52. Posting on Twitter, Lewis said that she died “peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family”.
Helen is believed to have had an estimated net worth of $25 million.