Helena Pickard was a British actress who was married to Cedric Hardwicke
She was born Helena Marie Pickard on October 13, 1900 in Sheffield, England. After high school she attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Then she began her career acting on the London stage. In 1924 she made her film debut in the short The Clicking Of Cuthbert. Helena married actor Cedric Hardwicke in 1927. The couple had a son named Edward. During the 1930s she had supporting roles in numerous British films including Music Hall, Splinters In The Navy, Limelight. Although her performances got good reviews she rarely got the chance to play a leading role. She appeared on Broadway in The Country Wife and Flare Path. Sadly her brother, Percy Pickard, was killed during World War 2.
Helena worked with her husband in the 1944 drama The Lodger. After twenty-three years of marriage she divorced Cedric in 1950 due to his infidelity. In 1956 she married Herbert Rothbarth, a financier. Unfortunately she suffered from numerous health problems and became addicted to barbiturates. Her final film was the 1956 crime drama Doublecross. Tragically on September 27, 1959 she died from overdose of sleeping pills. She was only fifty-eight years old. The coroner ruled her death was accidental. Helena was cremated and her ashes were buried at Golders Green crematorium in Golders Green, England. Just three months after she died her widow Herbert was killed in a car accident.
