Rise to Fame
Pregnancy cost her the role of Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Helena Bonham Carter took it instead. The studio brought her back anyway, casting her as Narcissa Malfoy, a quieter menace who ended up being arguably the more interesting character. Her stage background was the real foundation: years at the RSC and West End, an Olivier nomination for As You Like It. Peaky Blinders made her a household name in her mid-forties, which is not how it usually goes.
In the Spotlight
By the time Peaky Blinders wrapped its fifth season, she had quietly become the show's most indispensable presence. Cillian Murphy got top billing, but Polly Gray was the beating heart of the whole operation. Off screen, she and Damian Lewis launched the FeedNHS campaign in 2020, raising £1.5 million to deliver 40,000 meals a day to hospital staff across 100 hospitals. She did all of this while privately undergoing treatment for breast cancer, telling almost no one. The industry caught on fast after she died.
Side Notes
Co-founding a theatre company with Michael Sheen wasn't typical career behavior for an actress still building her screen profile. She ran The Public as a producing entity at the Liverpool Everyman and Donmar before she had a single major screen credit. Her charity work had the same low-profile intensity: patron of Scene & Heard (a mentoring charity that pairs disadvantaged children with professional theatre makers) for over a decade, and ambassador for The Prince's Trust.
Final Chapter
The announcement came from Damian Lewis on Twitter, describing her as having died 'fearlessly.' Peaky Blinders rewrote its Season 6 script after her death, killing Polly Gray off-screen via the IRA. The season premiere was dedicated to her memory, closing credits reading 'to the memory of Helen McCrory OBE.' In 2022, Damian Lewis received a CBE partly for their joint NHS charity work, posting his honor with the hashtag #CBeSharingItWithHelen.