PLANET OF THE APES - biography of Helena Bonham Carter

HELENA BONHAM CARTER (ARI) starred in David Fincher's provocative drama FIGHT CLUB. She will next be seen opposite Steve Martin in the upcoming NOVOCAINE, and with Guy Pearce in the independent film TILL HUMAN VOICES WAKE US. She received kudos for her performance in THE THEORY OF FLIGHT, and was multi-nominated for her performance in WINGS OF THE DOVE, for which she received Oscar®, Golden Globe® and Screen Actors Guild best actress nominations. Bonham Carter was also cited as Best Actress by Canada's Genie Awards for her performance in MARGARET'S MUSEUM and received an Emmy® nomination for the miniseries MERLIN: BORN AND RAISED IN LONDON Bonham Carter was educated at one of that city's foremost schools, Westminster. Director Trevor Nunn persuaded her to postpone her university studies in order to star in his film LADY JANE, the story of the doomed queen who ruled England for only nine days before being beheaded. On the last day of shooting Nunn's film, James Ivory offered her the ingenue lead in A ROOM WITH A VIEW. It was the first of a series of roles in E.M. Forster adaptations that would bring Bonham Carter international acclaim, followed by WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD and HOWARDS END. She played Ophelia in Franco Zeffrelli's HAMLET, opposite Mel Gibson; and then portrayed Elizabeth in MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN, directed by Kenneth Branagh. She then appeared as Woody Allen's wife in MIGHTY APHRODITE. Bonham Carter has also sought a variety of contemporary roles in features and television films. She has appeared as a victim of anorexia in GETTING IT RIGHT, a stripper in DANCING QUEEN and the widow of Lee Harvey Oswald in FATAL DECEPTION. Other television credits include ARMS AND THE MAN, BEATRIX POTTER, A HAZARD OF HEARTS as well as guest appearances on MIAMI VICE. Her stage credits include "Woman in White," "The Chalk Garden," "House of Bernarda Alba" and "Trelawny of the Wells."