Known for Art
Stephenie Lesley McMillan (née Gardner; 20 July 1942 – 19 August 2013) was an internationally recognised British set decorator. Born in Ilford, Essex, but raised in Chigwell, she graduated from the Woodford County High School for Girls. She worked as a secretary in offices of Stillman & Eastwick-Field, a London-based architecture firm. She was best known for working on all the Harry Potter films. She received three Academy Award nominations for the first, fourth, and seventh films, as well as a BAFTA and Critics Choice Award nomination for the eighth in the series, which went on to win the American Art Directors Guild's Contribution to Cinematic Imagery in 2012. Between 1984 and 2012, she worked as set decorator on 28 films. 16 of these were in collaboration with noted production designer Stuart Craig, including A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Shadowlands (1993), The English Patient (1996), for which she won an Oscar, Chocolat (2000) and all of the eight Harry Potter films. Her last film was the Coen brothers-scripted Gambit (2012). McMillan excelled at handling the decoration of large sets. In a February 2011 interview, she said: "I have been so lucky to have had the opportunity to dress these brilliant and huge sets [for the Harry Potter series] with enough time and money to do it properly, so I feel I don't really have any excuse for not getting it right. To have a set that is right for the director and makes the actors feel comfortable, that's really what I strive for." After completing the Harry Potter film series, McMillan and Craig collaborated on the designs for the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Florida, and 'The Magical World of Harry Potter', which Warner built at its studios at Leavesden, Hertfordshire, which opened in April 2012. Thomas Welsh, a former President of the Art Director's Guild, told the Los Angeles Times: "An eye for even the smallest details—and an understanding of how they swayed the story line — set her body of work apart." McMillan likened winning her Oscar "to being elevated to the peerage". She died at her home in Norfolk from complications of ovarian cancer, on 19 August 2013, aged 71.
Born
July 20, 1942
Died
August 19, 2013 (age 71)
Birthplace
Chigwell, Essex, England, UK
Filmography
25 films, 1 show


Gambit
2012 · 1h 29m
country: United States
An art curator decides to seek revenge on his abusive boss by conning him into buying a fake Monet, but his plan requires the help of an eccentric and unpredictable Texas rodeo queen.


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2011 · 2h 10m
country: United Kingdom
Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their quest to vanquish the evil Voldemort once and for all. Just as things begin to look hopeless for the young wizards, Harry discovers a trio of magical objects that endow him with powers to rival Voldemort's formidable skills.


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010 · 2h 26m
country: United Kingdom
Harry, Ron and Hermione walk away from their last year at Hogwarts to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, putting an end to Voldemort's bid for immortality. But with Harry's beloved Dumbledore dead and Voldemort's unscrupulous Death Eaters on the loose, the world is more dangerous than ever.


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2009 · 2h 33m
country: United Kingdom
Dumbledore tries to prepare Harry for the final battle with Voldemort while Death Eaters wreak havoc in both Muggle and Wizard worlds.


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007 · 2h 18m
country: United Kingdom
When a new professor's methods leave Hogwarts unprepared to fight the rising tide of evil, Harry teaches students how to defend against the dark arts.


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005 · 2h 37m
country: United Kingdom
When his name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter becomes a competitor in a grueling battle for glory among three wizarding schools. Signs of Voldemort's return emerge as Harry's friends help him prepare for the Triwizard Tournament.


Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004 · 2h 21m
country: United Kingdom
Harry Potter's life is in danger once more as dangerous wizard Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban Prison and is heading to Hogwarts.


Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002 · 2h 41m
country: United Kingdom
Cars fly, trees fight back, and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts. Adventure and danger await when bloody writing on a wall announces: The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. To save Hogwarts will require all of Harry, Ron and Hermione's magical abilities and courage.


Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2001 · 2h 32m
country: United Kingdom
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard—with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths—and about the villain who's to blame.


Chocolat
2000 · 2h 1m
country: United States
In the winter of 1959, a single mother and her young daughter arrive in a rural French town, where they open an unusual chocolate shop that disrupts the moral fiber of the strictly Catholic townsfolk and mayor.


Notting Hill
1999 · 2h 4m
country: United Kingdom
London bookstore owner William Thacker's quiet life turns upside down when a chance encounter with famous actress Anna Scott sparks an unlikely romance challenged by their vastly different worlds.


The Avengers
1998 · 1h 29m
country: United States
British Ministry agent John Steed, under direction from "Mother", investigates a diabolical plot by arch-villain Sir August de Wynter to rule the world with his weather control machine. Steed investigates the beautiful Doctor Mrs. Emma Peel, the only suspect, but simultaneously falls for her and joins forces with her to combat Sir August.


Fierce Creatures
1997 · 1h 33m
country: United Kingdom
Ex-policeman Rollo Lee is sent to run Marwood Zoo, the newly acquired business of a New Zealand tycoon. In order to meet high profit targets and keep the zoo open, Rollo enforces a new 'fierce creatures' policy, whereby only the most impressive and dangerous animals are allowed to remain in the zoo. However, the keepers are less enthusiastic about complying with these demands.


In Love and War
1996 · 1h 53m
country: United States
After teenage ambulance driver Ernest Hemingway takes shrapnel in the leg during World War I, he falls in love with Agnes von Kurowsky, a beautiful older nurse at the hospital where he's sent to recover. Their affair slowly blossoms, until Hemingway boldly asks Agnes to be his wife and journey to America with him.


The English Patient
1996 · 2h 42m
country: United Kingdom
In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics.


Mary Reilly
1996 · 1h 48m
country: United States
A housemaid falls in love with Dr. Jekyll and his darkly mysterious counterpart, Mr. Hyde.


Shadowlands
1993 · 2h 11m
country: United Kingdom
C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham.


The Secret Garden
1993 · 1h 41m
country: United States
A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.


Under Suspicion
1991 · 1h 39m
country: United Kingdom
In the late 1950s, British police officer Tony Aaron resigns from the force after sleeping with Hazel, wife of the man whose house he was supposed to guard. In his new job as a fake private investigator, he helps couples get divorces by photographing Hazel having "affairs" with the husband. When she is murdered during a job, Tony begins having an affair with the dead man's mistress, Angeline, while trying to prove his innocence.


A Fish Called Wanda
1988 · 1h 49m
country: United Kingdom
While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.


Santa Claus: The Movie
1985 · 1h 48m
country: United States
In ancient times, a man named Claus, who delivers toys in his small village, fulfils his destiny to become Santa Claus after meeting an expert toy-making elf, Patch, in the North Pole. In the present day, Santa Claus has become overwhelmed by his workload, and the disgruntled Patch flees the workshop to New York City. There, Patch unknowingly threatens the fate of Christmas by taking a job at a failing toy company run by a scheming businessman.


Give My Regards to Broad Street
1984 · 1h 49m
country: United Kingdom
When the mastertape of McCartney's latest album is misplaced, he must discover its whereabouts in less than 24 hours or else risk losing his recording company to the lowlife Mr. Rath.