Bonham Carter has not received any formal training in acting.
In 1979 she won a national writing contest and used the prize money to pay for her entry into the actors directory 'Spotlight'.
She made her first appearance at the age of 16 in a television commercial.
She also had a minor part in a TV movie, A Pattern of Roses in 1983.
Her first starring role was in Lady Jane in 1984, which received mix reviews.
She played the Queen of England when she was cast as Anne Boleyn in the ITV1 mini-series, Henry VIII.
She was restricted in acting since she was pregnant with her first child at the time of filming.

Her breakthrough performance was in A Room with a View in 1985, when she played Lucy Honeychurch.
Carter also appeared in episodes of Miami Vice as Don Johnson's love interest during the 1986-87 season.
She auditioned for the role of Nancy Spungen in Sid and Nancy in 1986, but lost the role to Chloe Webb.
These early roles led her to be typecast as a "corset queen", and "English rose."
She expanded her acting range in more recent movies like Fight Club, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Big Fish, and Sweeney Todd.

Bonham Carter played Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2.
She received good reviews as Lestrange, as she was described as a "shining but underused talent."
 She then played Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, which was also released in 2007.

In May of 2006, Bonham Carter launched her own fashion line called, "The Pantaloonies," with swimwear designer Samantha Sage.
The first collection is called "Bloomin' Bloomers" and is a Victorian style selection of camisoles, mop caps and bloomers.
The two are now working on Pantaloonies customized jeans which Carter describes as "a kind of scrapbook on the bum."

Carter plans to return to the West End with an appearance in "Rubenstein's Kiss."
However, the play was delayed because of her busy schedule.
The production was set to open in November of 2004 but was postponed.
In September 2008, Wild Target director, Johnathan Lynn, confirmed that Carter had dropped out of his movie due to filming difficulties.
He then went on to say that she had joined the cast of Tim Burton's 2010 movie, Alice in Wonderland, where she portrayed the Red Queen.
In that movie, she starred with actors Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Christopher Lee, and Alan Rickman.
Bonham Carter and Hathaway played two dueling sisters, the Red and White Queens.

In early 2009, Bonham Carter was named on of The Times newspaper's top 10 British Actresses of all-time.
She appeared on the list with fellow British actresses Julie Andrews, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, and Audrey Hepburn.

Bonham Carter played well-known author Enid Blyton in the BBC4 TV biography movie, Enid, showing the author's life.
This movie aired on 16 November 2009.
Carter starred with Matthew Macfadyen and Denis Lawson.
Bonham Carter has not received any formal training in acting. In 1979 she won a national writing contest and used the prize money to pay for her entry into the actors directory 'Spotlight'. She made her first appearance at the age of 16 in a television commercial. She also had a minor part in a TV movie, A Pattern of Roses in 1983. Her first starring role was in Lady Jane in 1984, which received mix reviews. She played the Queen of England when she was cast as Anne Boleyn in the ITV1 mini-series, Henry VIII. She was restricted in acting since she was pregnant with her first child at the time of filming.
Her breakthrough performance was in A Room with a View in 1985, when she played Lucy Honeychurch. Carter also appeared in episodes of Miami Vice as Don Johnson's love interest during the 1986-87 season. She auditioned for the role of Nancy Spungen in Sid and Nancy in 1986, but lost the role to Chloe Webb. These early roles led her to be typecast as a "corset queen", and "English rose." She expanded her acting range in more recent movies like Fight Club, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Big Fish, and Sweeney Todd.
Bonham Carter played Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2. She received good reviews as Lestrange, as she was described as a "shining but underused talent."  She then played Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, which was also released in 2007.
In May of 2006, Bonham Carter launched her own fashion line called, "The Pantaloonies," with swimwear designer Samantha Sage. The first collection is called "Bloomin' Bloomers" and is a Victorian style selection of camisoles, mop caps and bloomers. The two are now working on Pantaloonies customized jeans which Carter describes as "a kind of scrapbook on the bum."
Carter plans to return to the West End with an appearance in "Rubenstein's Kiss." However, the play was delayed because of her busy schedule. The production was set to open in November of 2004 but was postponed. In September 2008, Wild Target director, Johnathan Lynn, confirmed that Carter had dropped out of his movie due to filming difficulties. He then went on to say that she had joined the cast of Tim Burton's 2010 movie, Alice in Wonderland, where she portrayed the Red Queen. In that movie, she starred with actors Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Christopher Lee, and Alan Rickman. Bonham Carter and Hathaway played two dueling sisters, the Red and White Queens.
In early 2009, Bonham Carter was named on of The Times newspaper's top 10 British Actresses of all-time. She appeared on the list with fellow British actresses Julie Andrews, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, and Audrey Hepburn.
Bonham Carter played well-known author Enid Blyton in the BBC4 TV biography movie, Enid, showing the author's life. This movie aired on 16 November 2009. Carter starred with Matthew Macfadyen and Denis Lawson.
Helena Bonham Carter