'Peaky Blinders' and 'Harry Potter' actress Helen McCrory has died

LONDON, United Kingdom - Britain's Helen McCrory, known for her roles in Harry Potter movies, the James Bond film "Skyfall" and the "Peaky Blinders" television series, has died at the age of 52 after a "heroic battle" with cancer, her husband Damian Lewis said on Friday.

McCrory, who also played the former wife of Tony Blair, Cherie, in the film "The Queen" won a string of acting awards for her work on the stage and on television, had two children with the "Homeland" actor whom she married in 2007.

"I'm heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family," he said.

"She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we loved her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you."

McCrory played the matriarch in period gangster drama "Peaky Blinders".  In the Harry Potter franchise, she played Narcissa Malfoy the mother of Draco Malfoy.

Lewis is known in Britain and the United States for his role as Nicholas Brody in television drama "Homeland" and as Bobby Axelrod in "Billions". -- Reuters