Helena Bonham-Carter has made a career out of playing dark, eccentric characters.
This includes her work in Alice in Wonderland , Harry Potter , and Sweeney Todd .
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But her personal life is not unlike her career — it is also eccentric and entirely fascinating.
Keep reading to learn these 10+ interesting things that fans of the star don’t know.
1. She knew she wanted to become an actress from the age of 13.
After her father was left paralysed and partially blind from an operation, Helena was left to fend for herself.
Since she only had experience acting in plays, she decided to turn it into a way to make money.
2. She was denied admission to King’s College.
But not for the reasons you’d think.
After she dazzled as Lucy Honeychurch in Merchant Ivory’s A Room With A View , the school withdrew its offer since they were afraid that acting would get in the way of her completing her degree.
3. She dated Tim Burton for over a decade.
The pair first met on the set Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake.
While they were never married, they were together for a long time — 13 years — and they had two kids, Billy and Nell, together.
They had quite the unique relationship, as they didn’t even live together.
They lived in adjoining houses instead since Burton snored too much.
“We see as much of each other as any couple, but our relationship is enhanced by knowing we have our personal space to retreat to.”
4. She only agreed to play Princess Margaret after connecting to the dead royal via a psychic.
“My main thing when you play someone who is real, you kind of want their blessing, because you have a responsibility,” Bonham Carter told Marie Claire UK .
What did the spirit say? She said: “You’re better than the other actress.'”
5. She had a highly-publicized affair with Emma Thompson’s husband.
Helena is said to have started the affair with Kenneth Branagh while they were filming Frankenstein .
After Branagh and Thompson divorced, he and Helena dated for five years.
Bonham-Carter doesn’t like being branded as a homewrecker.
“It gets frustrating because I know the story and the truth of it,” she told Marie Claire UK . “It is very hurtful.”
Meanwhile, Emma suffered ” depression ” as a result of the betrayal.
6. She doesn’t have a stylist.
If there is one thing you should know about Helena, it’s that she walks to the beat of her drum.
“I’ve had a stylist once or twice, but it doesn’t really work out,” she told E! . “Because basically, I don’t like being told what to wear.”
“I don’t like being told what to do, so there’s no point. A lot of people suggest that I should.”
Her personal style is clearly goth-inspired, as she loves to wear dark get-ups.
She even once wore two different colored shoes to the Golden Globes.
7. She’s currently dating Danish writer, Rye Dag Holmboe.
He’s 21 years her junior.
Despite this, Helena is “very happy.” They hit it off right away when they met at a mutual friend’s wedding. She’s called him ” unexpected magic .”
8. She had to awkwardly film the *Harry Potter* movies with Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh.
Emma played Professor Trelawney, Kenneth played Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, and Helena played Bellatrix Lestrange throughout the franchise.
I can’t imagine a more awkward movie set, to be honest.
9. She has made seven movies with Tim Burton.
She was clearly his biggest muse while they were together.
Together, they made Planet of the Apes , Big Fish , Corpse Bride , Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , Alice in Wonderland , and Dark Shadows .
10. She’s distant cousins with Kate Middleton.
Maybe this is why Queen Elizabeth II is so fond of her.
According to Hello! , she and Kate share a great-great-great-grandfather. He was a Yorkshireman who worked in the wool trade.
11. She was given a prestigious award by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.
This was the Commander of the Order of the British Empire .
It’s not usually given to performers, but Queen Elizabeth II made an exception for Helena. She liked the actress’s performance in The King’s Speech .
12. She almost wasn’t in *Fight Club*.
That’s because the production studio had Reese Witherspoon in mind for the role of Marla Singer.
In the end, Witherspoon turned it down for being ” too dark “. Other actresses considered for the role included Winona Ryder and Courtney Love.
Helena took the role very seriously, as she even asked the makeup artist to do her makeup with her left hand.
This was so her character’s makeup wouldn’t look very well done — a character trait that Helena decided herself.
13. She once learned French for a role.
This was the French-speaking film, A Room With A View .
Instead of memorizing her lines, she decided to learn the entire language. “She almost didn’t speak French at all,” the director Martine Dugowson, told The Independant .
Talk about dedication!
“She had the language in her, but didn’t practice. But when I met her we did readings of certain scenes from the role and I saw that with work she could do it.”
