“Harry Potter” and “Downton Abbey” actor was 89 years old

British stage and screen actress Maggie Smith, who has two Oscars, three Emmys and countless stage awards to her name, has died. She was 89 years old.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in a statement to the BBC. “She passed away peacefully in hospital this morning, Friday September 27th. A very private person, she ended up with friends and family. She leaves behind two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

In her late 70s, Smith attracted a whole new legion of fans thanks to her starring role in the hugely successful series Downton Abbey, a hit for ITV, PBS’ Masterpiece and around the world. She received two Emmys and was nominated for two more for her role as the Dowager Countess.

And like virtually every other British actor or actress, Smith played the role of Professor Minerva McGonagall in several installments of the Harry Potter film series.

A master of classical and contemporary roles, known as much for her subtlety as her generous mannerisms, the red-haired Smith delighted generations of theatergoers on both sides of the Atlantic with standout performances in “Mary, Mary” and “Hedda.” Gabler,” “Othello,” “Private Lives,” “Night and Day,” and “Lettice and Lovage” and audiences around the world for her work in films such as “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” “California Suite,” “A Room with a View”, “Traveling with My Aunt”, “Hot Millions”, “A Private Event”, “Gosford Park”, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and its sequel.

In 2015, she starred in The Lady in the Van, Alan Bennett’s adaptation of his play based on his true experiences and directed by Nicholas Hytner, who directed the play.

In 1990 she was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire, one of only a few of her generation, including Judi Dench and Diana Rigg, to receive this honor.

A British reviewer once credited her with having “the power to keep you watching and listening again and again, laconic and nervous, great in comedy, touching in pathos, a gem of an actress.” Even her critics, who who complained that her mannerisms—constantly jutting elbows, flying hands, triple takes, soaring vocal tones—marred some of her performances (particularly in long-running pieces), could not deny the impact of her theatrical energy. Annoyed by such complaints, she replied that it was better to do too much on stage than too little.

Like other incredibly talented actors – Brando comes to mind – the depth and breadth of her talent has sometimes pushed her over the edge. But when she picked up her game, she was unforgettable, deftly grabbing the audience’s attention and stealing scenes from everyone around her. Unlike other actors of her generation, Smith did not belong to Laurence Olivier’s declamatory acting school; She was considered fresh and carefree. It turned out to be a mixed blessing: when she was young, she had to convince others that she was a serious actress capable of keeping up with the classics.

Margaret Smith was born in Ilford, Essex and attended the Oxford School for Girls before studying drama at the Oxford Playhouse School. From 1952 she appeared in Oxford University stage productions, particularly in revues such as On the Fringe, with which she sometimes traveled. When “On the Fringe” reached the West End, American producer Leonard Sillman saw her and asked her to take part in the Broadway variety show “New Faces of 1956”; She was the only British woman.

“New Faces” led to another comedic role in the 1957 revue “Share My Lettuce” and a small film, “Nowhere to Go.” She returned to the stage in The Stepmother and then joined the Old Vic, where she began to develop her serious acting skills in productions of The Double Dealer, As You Like It, Richard II and The Merry” to prove Wives of Windsor” and “What Every Woman Knows”. In 1960 she appeared for the first time opposite Olivier in Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. She then appeared in Strip the Willow, Anouilh’s The Rehearsal and readings of Sean O’Casey’s Pictures in the Hallway, which later led to a role in the film Young Cassidy with Rod Taylor as O’Casey. Casey.

Smith’s first Evening Standard Award went to Peter Shaffer for The Private Ear/The Public Eye. Her next triumph was Jean Kerr’s Mary, Mary.

It was around this time that Hollywood began to take notice of the actress: she asserted herself in a supporting role in the 1963 Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor film “The VIPs” and was equally successful in the drama “The Pumpkin Eaters” the following year. starring Anne Bancroft. Olivier then asked her to join his National Theater Company as his Desdemona in Othello, which brought her great theatrical success and an Oscar nomination for the film adaptation. For the National Theater she brought to the stage productions such as “The Recruiting Officer”, “The Master Builder”, a triumphant “Hey Fever”, “Much Ado About Nothing”, “Miss Julie”, “Black Comedy” and “A Bond”. Honored” and an Ingmar Bergman-directed “Hedda Gabler,” which earned her another Evening Standard Award in 1970.

She won the coveted title role in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” ahead of stage actresses such as Zoe Caldwell and Vanessa Redgrave and took home the Oscar for it. She was not present at the ceremony but was performing at The Beaux Strategem in London at the time. During this time she also appeared in films such as “The Honey Pot”, “Hot Millions” and “Oh!” What a beautiful war.”

At the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Smith appeared in “Antony and Cleopatra”, “The Way of the World”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “As You Like It”, among others. She also appeared with Brian Bedford in “The Guardsman” in Los Angeles in 1976 and returned to Broadway in Tom Stoppard’s “Night and Day,” which earned her a second Tony nomination (the first was for “Private Lives”).

George Cukor’s “Traveling with My Aunt” received a second Oscar nomination. She was crazy in Murder by Death, but so revealing in Neil Simon’s California Suite that she won a second Oscar, this time for supporting actress. Other film roles from this time included “Clash of the Titans,” “Quartet,” “Evil Under the Sun” and “Better Late Than Never.”

But it wasn’t until the mid-’80s that she appeared in films that matched her abilities: Alan Bennett’s “A Private Function” and “A Room With a View,” which earned her a fifth Oscar nomination. Both “A Private Function” and “The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne,” which had many admirers, earned her the BAFTA Award for Best Actress.

On stage, even her most difficult tasks, such as “The Infernal Machine” by Jean Cocteau, were worth seeing. Her “Virginia” (as in Woolf) won her another Evening Standard prize in 1981 and “The Way of the World” another in 1984. Alan Bennett wrote the brilliant monologue “Bed Among the Lentils” for her, and she received recognition performing it on television in 1988.

Shaffer wrote “Lettice and Love” for her. This wonderful comedy fully suited her talents. She triumphed in London and then took it to New York, where she ultimately won her Tony. Around this time she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, which subsequently affected her health and limited her ability to work regularly or for long periods of time.

Nonetheless, she delivered some impressive performances on the London stage, most notably with her award-winning Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women in 1994. She appeared in several films, including Steven Spielberg’s Hook and the mainstream hit Sister Act. . ” and its sequel “The Secret Garden”, “The First Wives’ Club”, “Washington Square” and, impressively, Ian McKellen’s fascist version of “Richard III”. She also appeared in the lighthearted “It All Came True” with Michael Caine and opposite Cher in “Tea With Mussolini.” On television, she was memorable in “Memento Mori” and “Suddenly Last Summer” (which earned an Emmy nomination), and she also appeared in the telepics “All the King’s Men” (about a World War I tragedy) and “David Copperfield.” (another Emmy nomination).

She received an Emmy in 2003 for the HBO television series My House in Umbria, was nominated again in 2010 for Capturing Mary, and received two more for her regular role as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the acclaimed British television series Downton Abbey .”

In the 2000s, Smith made a solid impact in mainstream features with supporting roles in Gosford Park, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Becoming Jane, Keeping Mum and Nanny McPhee Returns. She was introduced to the masses of JK Rowling fans when she played Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series. But during the production of the “Potter” pictures, Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 74. She made a full recovery and returned to the big and small screen.

Her work continued with a role in 2009’s “From Time to Time,” a dubbing role in the 2011 animated film “Gnomeo and Juliet,” and appearances in the hit film “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and its sequel. In 2012, Smith starred in the Dustin Hoffman-directed “Quartet”, Ronald Harwood’s adaptation of his own play about people in a retirement home for opera singers, and she starred in “My Old Lady”, the feature film debut of Israel Horovitz, based on his own play based play.

Smith married actor Robert Stephens in 1967. After divorcing Stephens, she married the writer Beverly Cross in 1976; he died in 1998. She is survived by two sons, actors Christopher Larkin and Toby Stephens, and grandchildren.