Helen McCrory obituary: Accomplished and versatile stage and screen actor McCrory also led the Feed NHS scheme to provide meals for staff during the pandemic about 3 hours ago Helen McCrory was born on August 17th, 1968, in the Paddington area of London, the eldest of three children. File photograph: Jeff Spicer/Getty April 16th, 2021 Helen McCrory, the accomplished and versatile British stage and screen actor who played Narcissa Malfoy in three Harry Potter films and the matriarch Polly Gray in the BBC series Peaky Blinders, in addition to earning critical plaudits for her stage work, died at her home in north London. She was 52.