Happy Birthday to Helena Bonham Carter!

On May 26, 1966, the lovely Helena Bonham Carter was born in Islington, London. She became famous during her performance of the title character of Lady Jane in the film of the same name. Her out-of-the-box acting style changed her typecast as the quintessential English girl to being cast as edgier, and more complex characters. Her outspoken and royalty-inspired fashion sense is another thing that made her iconic—with her outfits always turning heads whether on the street, or on the red carpet.

She's also one of my personal favourite actresses, because of the way she plays many different characters. She never really does the same role twice, and I think that is the best thing about her. The amount of talent she has is beautiful and brilliant—I really do love her a lot. Ever since I saw her in Sweeney Todd about six months after it came out, she was one of my favourite actresses ever, and she's just been getting better and better since.

Now, we're going to count her ten best film performances from ten to one. I feel like I must also mention that animated films do count, but television shows or miniseries do not. So here are my top ten performances by Helena Bonham Carter!

10. Emily ('Corpse Bride', 2005)

I loved this film and her performance was brilliant. Though it was just her voice, I don't think I could hear anyone else voicing that character except for her. Her voice just fit so well with what the character looked like, and the way in which she acted. I think I can even see a younger version of Helena Bonham Carter herself in the character of Emily in Corpse Bride (2005), can you?

9. Marla ('Fight Club', 1999)

Now, I may not really like the film Fight Club, since it is highly overrated for what it is. But, the performance given by Helena Bonham Carter was amazing. She really did carry a lot of the film, and added a sense of life to it. The ironic thing is that she was the person who gave the best performance in the film, even though she wasn't in it as much as other characters. I thought she was pretty brilliant, and it showed a side to her that people hadn't really seen at the time; proving she can play complex characters.

8. Madame Thenardier ('Les Miserables', 2012)

In my opinion, Helena Bonham Carter played this character the best. Even in the book, you can really picture this character being portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter. I liked the way she brought real colour and vibrance to a character who is basically a criminal in every sense of the word; she was brilliant and funny and had real character. There is something about this performance that I really love, and I think it's the fact that I've never seen the character played so flamboyantly.

7. Ari ('Planet of the Apes', 2001)

When I heard about this film, I didn't watch it at first because it sounded boring as hell. To be honest, the whole film was pretty boring—I say only pretty boring, because Helena Bonham Carter's performance lit up the film. There was something very fluid about her performance that I loved, and to this day, it's the only actual thing I remember from the film. The rest of it was pretty forgettable. Obviously, Helena Bonham Carter's performance was the game-changer for the film; it made the film watchable and fun.

6. Edith ('Suffragette', 2015)

I really quite enjoyed this film even though again, initially I thought it would be boring. I actually only really watched it because Ben Whishaw is in it as well, and he's one of my favourite actors as well. When I saw Helena Bonham Carter's performance, I was really convinced she could play any character. In this film she plays a woman protesting for the right to vote, and she just gives a really great, and again, colourful, performance. She seems very in-touch with the character, as if she did a lot of research on the women of this era.

5. Jennifer ('Big Fish', 2003)

Well, technically she plays two characters in this film—Jennifer and The Witch. I find these characters to have completely opposing acts, and therefore, it must have required quite a bit of skill to portray the two characters of two different extremes. I feel like her performance in this film is normally overlooked, and I would like you all to pay more attention to her, because this is such a good role; two conflicting characters in the same film.

4. The Red Queen ('Alice in Wonderland', 2010)

Now, a lot of people don't like this film, and I understand that. But, we have to be aware that Helena Bonham Carter had an incredibly difficult job of making the audience hate her. The obnoxiousness of the character is actually really complex, and the acting as the character must have been difficult, because she needed to keep the audience hating the character, but also amused by the character as well. I love the way she plays this role, she's perfect to play it as well, because as a person, she has absolutely nothing in common with the character.

3. Mrs. Lovett ('Sweeney Todd', 2007)

This was the very first film I saw her in, and I adored her from then on. Her character, Mrs. Lovett, is the villainous partner of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. But seriously, her character is very complex, and she portrays it brilliantly. The way in which she carries the character as one of the main propellants of the storyline is amazing, she manages to keep the audience guessing as to what has actually happened at the hands of Mrs. Lovett. It's a great performance, and I'll definitely be revisiting this film for her birthday!

2. Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother ('The King's Speech', 2010)

I have got to say, she really outdid herself with this one. I'm not going to lie but when you watch the film, all of the performances fit together perfectly, and Helena Bonham Carter gives an amazing portrayal of one of the most important figures of 20th Century British History. I feel like she was perfect for this role, because of the way she is as a person, she is very proper and holds herself extremely well as a human being—so naturally she would be great at playing royalty.

1. Bellatrix Lastrange ('Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'—'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2', 2007-2011)

You can't think of anyone else to play this character, I can't think of anyone else to play this character, and I'm pretty sure nobody else can. Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix was quite possibly one of the best roles in the entire Harry Potter Series ever. She was brilliantly animated, she brought life to the films, and this strange over-the-top villainy that really fit with the vibe of escaping from Azkaban. I loved her performance in these films, and really was hoping they'd do her story in more films.

Conclusion

She's one of the best actresses of her generation, and possibly one of the greatest actresses of the 90s and 2000s. She's not only a great actress, but she's intelligent, and has tons of personality. She has real character and always holds herself well. She's a lovely woman, and she's also absolutely beautiful. I'm sure there's things I've missed, but if you're going to celebrate Helena Bonham Carter's birthday—then watch one of the films in the list!