Illustrious British actress, notably known for her role as Minerva McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” saga and Violet Crawley in the “Downton Abbey” series, Maggie Smith died at the age of 89, her family announced this Friday.
She was the famous Professor Minerva McGonagall in the saga Harry Potter and Violet Crawley in the series Downton Abbey. Maggie Smith, born December 28, 1934 in England, died at the age of 89, her family announced this Friday.
“Peaceful death in hospital”
“She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning,” said her 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 the mother superior alongside Whoopi Goldberg in “Sister Act” (1992) to the “transfiguration” professor in the Harry Potter films. , including the neurotic chaperone in “Room with a View” (1986) or the old homeless lady in “The Lady in the Van” (2015).
Two Oscars and six Baftas
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.
She won the affection of international audiences with her role as the ruthless but endearing Dowager Countess Lady Violet in the television series (and then both films) Downton Abbey.
Julian Fellowes, screenwriter and creator of Downton Abbey, paid tribute to her “genius” and her “instinctive understanding” of the characters she played. “She could make you cry one minute, then make you laugh out loud the next,” he told Sky News.
“National treasure”
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 Abbey”, praised his “sharp eye, keen mind and formidable talent” to the PA agency.
Debut on the theater stage
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.
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