Bonham Carter was born in Golders Green, London. Her mother, Elena (née Propper de Callejón), is a psychotherapist. Her father, Raymond Bonham Carter, was a merchant banker and the alternate UK director representing the Bank of England at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. during the 1960s; he came from a famous British political family, being the son of Maurice Bonham Carter Read more...

Bonham Carter has not received any formal training in acting. In 1979, she won a national writing contest and used the money won to pay for her entry into the actors directory 'Spotlight'. She made her professional acting début at the age of 16, in a television commercial. She also had a part in a minor TV film A Pattern of Roses (1983). Her first starring film role was in Lady Jane (1984, released Read more...

Bonham Carter was in a relationship with actor Kenneth Branagh (with whom she appeared in several films) from 1994 to the summer of 1999. She then briefly dated actors Rufus Sewell and Steve Martin. In October 2001, she began her current relationship with director Tim Burton, whom she met while filming Planet of the Apes. She has appeared in all of his subsequent films. They live in Belsize Park, Read more...