Narcissa Malfoy is a difficult character to love. She spends most of the Harry Potter saga as a supporter of Voldemort, and even when she lies to him about Harry being dead she primarily does so in order to protect her own son. It's a testament to the great acting skills of Helen McCrory that she makes us feel any sympathy for her at all.
McCrory's ability to play noble, uptight and yet somehow sultry women has been noted for years, but she's also a versatile performer, able to take on the role of Cherie Blair in "The Queen" to great acclaim. A strikingly good-looking woman even as she moves into her 50s, she's married to former "Homeland" star Damien Lewis. As with her veteran peers in the Harry Potter franchise, she's been recognized at the highest level for her services to acting and was awarded with the Order of the British Empire in 2017.