British actress Maggie Smithunforgettable Professor McGonagall in the saga Harry Potterdied at the age of 89, her family announced.
“She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning”said his 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, a cinema legend
A true legend of British cinema, Maggie Smith will have spanned more than half a century on the big screen, on TV and in the theater where she started in the 1950s.
In 1958, she landed her first role in the cinema, starring in The criminal at bay. A flamboyant career followed, punctuated by major roles alongside stars of the seventh art like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
An unforgettable Professor McGonagall
In 1970, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in Miss Brodie’s beautiful years. Her career would lead her to be directed by directors such as Mankiewicz, Spielberg and Madden (both “Indian Palace”, box office successes).
She is also remembered as Mother Superior in the comedy Sister Act (1992). But above all it is his incarnation of Professor McGonagall in the saga Harry Potter which propelled her to icon status.
We also remember his interpretation in Gosford Park by Robert Altman in 2001, a role for which she received a sixth Oscar nomination.
She wasViolet Crawley dans Downtown Abbey
On television, it was from 2010 that she also established herself in the role of Violet Crawley In Downtown Abbey.
With two Oscars, three Golden Globes, six Baftas, three Emmy awards and a Tony award, Maggie Smith is part of the closed circle of actors who have won distinction in cinema, theater and television.
