Helena Howard was born in New York, New York. She grew up on the stage, but her first professional film role was in Josephine Decker's "Madeline's Madeline" after workshopping it with Pig Iron Theatre Company for over two years. The film had its national premiere at Sundance in 2018 and internationally at Berlinale. For her performance, Helena was nominated for Best Actress at the Gotham Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards.