British actress Maggie Smith recently passed away at the age of 89, leaving behind a repertoire of exceptional performances throughout her storied career.
British actress Maggie Smith, a behemoth in the film and theater industry, has recently left her many fans, colleagues, and loved ones mourning her absence. The beloved thespian passed away on the morning of September 27, 2024.
Her sons with first husband and fellow actor Robert Stephens, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, announced their mother’s passing in a statement shared with members of the press: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. […] An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.” Smith died “peacefully” at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Stephens and Larkin added in the statement.
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There’s No One Like Maggie Smith
A whole generation of moviegoers probably remember Maggie Smith for her role as Professor Minerva McGonagall, the caring albeit firm Hogwarts teacher in the famous Harry Potter movie franchise. While the role made her exceedingly popular among a new generation of audiences, her entire career was filled with spectacular and award-winning work beyond J.K. Rowling’s fantasy world.
Smith was set on becoming an actress at a young age, having started her career as a student performing at the Oxford Playhouse School. She would go on to star in various productions, taking on the role of Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier’s Othello in 1964, then reprising it in a motion picture adaptation of the play in 1965—which won her an Academy Award nomination.
The actress then shot up to international stardom with her role as the passionate and exuberant Scottish girls’ school teacher Jean Brodie in 1969’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which won her an Academy Award for Best Actress. If anything can capture the power of her acting, it’s certainly her moving speech in one of the movie’s points of conflict.
Smith also starred critically-acclaimed film adaptations of writer Agatha Christie’s works, namely Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982). Her career would continue to flourish as she took on more roles in beloved movies like A Room with a View (1985), Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), Tea with Mussolini (1999), and Nanny McPhee Returns (2010), among many other works.
Even in her later years, she continued to make a mark through her role as the ever-witty, spitfire family matriarch and Dowager Countess of Grantham, Violet Crawley, throughout the Downton Abbey series and movies.
Well-Deserved Accolades
Smith has won a Tony (for 1990’s Lettice and Lovage), two Academy Awards (one for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and another for her supporting role in 1978’s California Suite), and three Primetime Emmy awards for her work in Downton Abbey. She also received several Olivier award nominations (among the most prestigious in theater), and a Special Award from the body in 2010 for her lifetime work.
Besides that, she also received the honor of knighthood from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1990, carrying the title of Dame. Then in 2014, she garnered another prestigious award from the British monarchy: the title Companion of Honor (CH) for her long standing contributions to the arts.
Tributes to a Master of Her Craft
Naturally, many fans and those who knew Smith personally flocked to social media to pay their respects to the stellar actress, who often stole the screen with the strength, wit, and compelling authenticity of her performances. The tributes kept pouring in over the weekend; from the significant institutions she worked with to former colleagues, there was no shortage of love for the late actress.
Former Harry Potter cast members Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint—who were just children when they began working together—all wrote touching posts in memory of their former colleague.
“She was a fierce intellect, a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny,” Radcliffe wrote in a statement reported by The Independent. “I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set. The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her.”
Meanwhile, Smith’s former co-star in the hilarious Sister Act movies, Whoopi Goldberg, wrote in an Instagram post: “Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind.’”
Downton Abbey’s official X account wrote: “A true British icon. Thank you for everything, Dame Maggie Smith.” Meanwhile, in an X post, the Olivier Awards stated that the West End theaters will be dimming their lights “for two minutes at 7:00 PM on Tuesday 1 October, in her memory.”
Even King Charles III and Queen Camilla released an official statement on X in memory of Smith: “As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances and warmth and wit that shone through both on and off the stage.”
Banner photo via X @DowntonAbbey.
