Since the late 1940s, Bloom has been one of Britain's most acclaimed actresses. She became internationally known in 1952 when she co-starred with Charlie Chaplin in Limelight and went on to a prolific film and TV career on both sides of the Atlantic, appearing in productions ranging from Richard III to a late-1960s film adaption of the science fiction story The Illustrated Man. Among her other varied productions include Backstairs at the White House, Brideshead Revisited, the US soap opera As the World Turns and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.