When people look back on her career years from now, it seems extremely likely that they will recognize that in a lot of ways, Helena Bonham Carter is one of the most underrated actors of her generation. Extremely talented at what she does, Bonham Carter has been nominated and won a long list of awards during her long and impressive career. More importantly than that, Bonham Carter has portrayed many characters that have had a huge impact on pop culture. Sadly, however, it turns out that Bonham Carter hates talking about her past performances since she underrates her own career too.
Based on how Helena Bonham Carter talks during interviews, she seems to understand that there are a lot of things that are more important than her acting career being praised. Unfortunately for her, however, Bonham Carter’s personal life has been extremely painful at times. For example, a lot of people know about Bonham Carter’s relationship with Tim Burton that unfortunately ended in a painful separation. Even though that must have been sad for her, however, it seems very clear that Bonham Carter once went through something a lot more devastating.
The Horrible Tragedy That Helena Bonham Carter’s Family Went Through
When people go on vacation, they expect to have a great time and make happy memories that they will be able to look back on with fondness for the rest of their lives. Sadly, however, no matter what people expect out of a vacation, the truth of the matter is that tragedy can strike at any time including when people are on vacation. In 2008, several members of Helena Bonham Carter’s family were on holiday when something went horribly awry, to say the very least.
In August of 2008, several members of Helena Bonham Carter’s family were on a vacation in South Africa and were traveling via a minivan. Then, one of the minivan’s tires suddenly burst which sent the vehicle flipping through the air several times. In the immediate aftermath, one of Bonham Carter’s cousins named Fiona Egerton-Warburton managed to drag herself away from the accident with a broken collarbone. Fiona’s 16-year-old son Piers suffered whiplash injuries from the accident.
Tragically for Helena Bonham Carter, every other member of her family who was in the South African minivan during the crash lost their life. Among the crash victims who died were 74-year-old Francis Kirkwood, 55-year-old Kay Patricia Bonham Carter, 74-year-old Brenda Bonham Carter, and Graham Bonham Carter. Even though Helena’s cousin Fiona Egerton-Warburton survived the crash, her 14-year-old son Marcus Egerton-Warburton lost his life.
At the time of the crash that took the lives of several of her family members, Helena Bonham Carter was working on the movie Terminator Salvation. Unsurprisingly, Bonham Carter left the set of the film so she could travel back to England, reportedly with her partner at the time, Tim Burton, to be there for her family. In the aftermath, an insider described Bonham Carter as being “numb with grief” and in a “state of shock”.
Eventually able to return to the set of Terminator Salvation, Helena Bonham Carter has managed to keep going after suffering the kind of tragedy that is difficult to even imagine for almost everyone. Of course, it seems very likely that Bonham Carter will always be affected by what happened for the rest of her life, but she clearly is a survivor.
Other Stars Who Suffered Profound Tragedies
From the outside looking in, it can be easy to assume that all celebrities have led a charmed life given everything they’ve accomplished. In reality, however, just like Helena Bonham Carter, several other major stars have gone through horrible tragedies over the years.
During Kelsey Grammer’s time in the public eye, the actor has been extremely successful but he has also had a tumultuous personal life. When looking back at Grammer’s extremely tragic history, the struggles in his personal life make a lot more sense since most people couldn’t cope with everything he has gone through. After all, when Grammer was only thirteen, his father lost his life outside the family home when he was attacked by a stranger with a firearm. Seven years later, Grammer’s 18-year-old sister Karen was abducted and lost her life at the hands of Freddie Glenn. Finally, Grammer’s twin half-brothers Billy and Stephen lost their lives in a scuba-diving accident.
Another star whose life has been very difficult is the incredibly talented singer Jennifer Hudson. In 2012, Hudson’s estranged brother-in-law William Balfour was sentenced to three life sentences with no parole for taking the lives of three people. Tragically, Balfour’s victims were Hudson’s mother Darnell Donnerson who was 57, his brother Jason who was 29, and her nephew Julian who was only 7.