Carey Mulligan took the opportunity to pay her respects to Helen McCrory, after winning one of the top prizes at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.
On Thursday night, Carey was announced as the recipient of the Best Female Lead award, for her Oscar-nominated performance in the film Promising Young Woman.
While giving her acceptance speech from home, the British star took a moment to remember Helen McCrory, who died earlier this month at the age of 52.
“I want to dedicate this award to a true independent spirit, an actress that I have looked up to and will continue to look up to for the rest of my career, Helen McCrory,” Carey explained.
She went on to thank the late Peaky Blinders star “for everything she gave us”.
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are traditionally the last major awards ceremony to take place before the Oscars, which are being held on Sunday night.
Nomadland was the big winner at this year’s event, scooping Best Feature and Best Director, while Riz Ahmed, Paul Raci and Yuh-jung Youn were also recognised for their respective performances in Sound Of Metal and Minari.
Helen McCrory died last month following what her husband Damian Lewis described as a “heroic battle with cancer”.
“I’m heartbroken to announce that after a 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 wrote on Twitter.
“She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly.”
Helen was best known for her performance as Polly Gray in the TV drama Peaky Blinders, but also played Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films and appeared in the James Bond outing Skyfall.
