Tragic news: The wonderful actress Helen McCrory, wife of Damian Lewis, has died at age 52 in the UK from cancer. Lewis announced the sad news on Twitter today. McCrory starred in “Harry Potter” on film and “Peaky Blinders” on TV among her many credits.
Lewis, the star here of “Billions” and “Homeland,” wrote:
“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. 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.”
The British actress also starred in the James Bond film “Skyfall,” Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” and played Cherie Booth, wife of U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, in “The Queen” and “The Special Relationship.”
In addition to her film and TV roles, McCrory began her career on stage and appeared in more than 25 productions during the 1990s through the mid 2010s. Her stage credits included “Macbeth,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “As You Like It,” “Medea” and many more.
J.K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” series, Tweeted: “I’m devastated to learn of the death of Helen McCrory, an extraordinary actress and a wonderful woman who’s left us far too soon. My deepest condolences to her family, especially her husband and children. Simply heartbreaking news.”
McCrory’s many awards included Best Actress at the London Film Critics Circle, the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, the Critics’ Circle Theater Awards and theater actress of the year at the Glamour Awards. She was nominated for a Critics Choice Television Award and a Satellite Award for best supporting actress in a drama for “Penny Dreadful.” For her role in “Macbeth” in 1995, she was named most promising newcomer at the Shakespeare Globe Awards.
McCrory and Lewis were married in 2007, and had a son and a daughter. Condolences to all of them. What a loss.
On a personal note, I really enjoyed her work, she was someone I looked forward to seeing on stage or in film. Just terrible.
