(GoRealNewsNow.com) – Known for her iconic role as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter Saga, beloved British actress Dame Maggie Smith passed away today at the age of 89.
Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, released a statement: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith.”
They added, “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.”
Born in Ilford, England, Smith became an icon through her roles as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films and the sharp-witted Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey.
After “Downton Abbey” ended its five-season run in 2015, the actress confessed during an interview with Graham Norton that she felt a sense of relief.
“By the time we were finished, she must’ve been 110,” she joked about her character.
“She couldn’t go on and on and on. It didn’t make sense.” She also admitted she had never actually watched the popular series. “I’ve got the box set,” the iconic actress added.
Despite stepping away from TV, Smith reprised her role as Violet Crawley in two film adaptations: 2019’s “Downton Abbey” and 2022’s “Downton Abbey: A New Era.”
Beyond those legendary roles, Smith’s career spanned seven decades. From Shakespeare to nuns, she excelled on stage and screen, winning two Academy Awards, four Emmys, three Golden Globes, five BAFTAs, and a Tony Award.
Moreover, Smith’s acting journey began onstage at 17, in a 1952 production of “Twelfth Night” in Oxford, England. Just five years later, she made her Broadway debut in “Faces of ’56” at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Over the next 34 years, she appeared in three more Broadway productions, including Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” in 1975 and “Lettice and Lovage” in 1990.
She also loved theater, performing in numerous West End shows, with the Royal National Theatre, and at Canada’s Stratford Festival.
Her first Oscar came in 1970 for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.” She starred in notable films like “Death On The Nile” (1970) and “Evil Under The Sun” (1982), sharing the screen with stars like Angela Lansbury, Peter Ustinov, and Bette Davis.
In the ’90s and 2000s, she embraced beloved character roles like Mother Superior in “Sister Act” and “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit,” socialite Gunilla in “The First Wives Club,” and the dowager Constance in “Gosford Park.”
While filming “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Smith was treated for breast cancer. She reflected on the toll it took, telling The Times of London in 2009, “It leaves you so flattened.”
Yet, her love for the craft pulled her back to the stage. In 2019, the beloved star returned in the London production of “A German Life” at the Bridge Theatre.
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