Maggie Smith dies at age 89

(London) British actress Maggie Smith, legend of theater and cinema, known worldwide for her roles in the series Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter saga, died Friday in London at the age of 89, a death which led to a shower of tributes.

She had won the affection of international audiences with her role as the ruthless, yet endearing, dowager countess Lady Violet in the television series (and then both films). Downton Abbey.

Julian Fellowes, screenwriter and creator of Downton Abbey, has paid tribute to her “genius” and “instinctive understanding” of the characters she played.

“She could make you cry one minute and then make you laugh out loud the next,” he told Sky News.

Maggie Smith “passed away peacefully in hospital early” Friday morning in London, announced the actress’s two sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens.

“She was a very private person, but she was with her friends and family at the end of her life. She leaves two loving sons and five grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” they added.

Maggie Smith’s career has been marked by the eclecticism of roles and genres: from Mother Superior alongside Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act (1992) to the “metamorphosis” professor in the films of the saga Harry Potterpassing by the neurotic chaperone in Room with a view (1986) or old homeless lady in The Lady in the Van (2015).

Then Downton Abbey which had changed her life, making her an international celebrity.

During her long career, she has won two Oscars, six Baftas (including an honorary one), four Emmy Awards, for a total of 108 nominations across all awards.

“national treasure”

King Charles III said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of this “national treasure”, in a message posted on X.

He paid tribute to “her many brilliant performances, her warmth and spirit which shone both on and off the stage”.

Maggie Smith “was loved by many people for her talent, and had become a true national treasure whose work will be cherished by generations”, greeted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X.

The Bafta Academy paid tribute to the actress, describing her as a “British legend of stage and screen”. Actor Hugh Bonneville, who played Maggie Smith’s son in Downton Abbeypraised “his sharp eye, his lively mind and his formidable talent”.

The American actress Whoopy Goldberg, who starred alongside him in Sister Act, praised on X “a fantastic woman and a brilliant actress”.

“I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with such a unique person,” she added.

Born on December 28, 1934 in Ilford (south-east of England), Margaret Smith started on the stage of the Oxford Playhouse in the early 1950s. She then joined the troupe of the London theater of the Old Vic and then that of the Royal National Theater where she had a string of successes, alongside her husband, the actor Robert Stephens.

His film career took off in the 1960s.

One of the best-known and most celebrated British artists, Maggie Smith was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1990 and a Companion of Honor in 2014, rewarded for services rendered to the country in the field of the arts.

She had been married twice, and had her two sons, also actors, with Robert Stephens.