Though typecast as aristocratic heroines in solemn period films in the early part of her career, London-born actress Helena Bonham Carter struggled hard to prove her range and break free of her corseted mold. She gained notoriety as the leading ingénue in a few Merchant-Ivory productions, including “A Room With a View” (1986) and “Howards End” (1992), quickly developing into the quintessential Edwardian heroine. Less demure off-screen, however, Bonham Carter began appearing in more mainstream work after the 1990s, hooking up with commercially viable, but artistically respected filmmakers like Tim Burton and Woody Allen. Far from a Victorian prude off-screen, Bonham Carter made headlines for her tumultuous personal life after being romantically linked with Kenneth Branagh, Rufus Sewell and Steve Martin. She finally settled down, becoming engaged to Burton, whom she met while working on “Planet of the Apes” (2001), a relationship that helped ground her both personally and professionally.