Maggie Smith, the venerable British actress whose career on stage, film and television spanned more than 60 years, has died. She was 89. Her sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, confirmed her death in a statement to the Press Association. Having appeared in more than 50 films, Smith was considered one of Britain’s best-known actresses and was loved by younger generations for her roles as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” films and the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the television series “Downton Abbey.”
In addition to two Academy Awards, Smith won five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, five Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Tony Award. In 1990, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Dame Maggie Smith, venerable British actress, dies at 89 – ABC News Smith was born in Ilford, Essex, and moved to Oxford with her family at age 4. Her father, a public health pathologist, worked at Oxford University.
Smith attended Oxford High School until age 16, when she began studying acting at the Oxford Playhouse. She made her stage debut with the Oxford University Drama Society in 1952. A decade later, she starred alongside Laurence Olivier and received her first Oscar nomination for 1965’s Othello. She won her first Oscar in 1979 for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Another followed in 1979 for California Suite.
Smith appeared in a variety of films in the 1980s and 1990s, including 1985’s “A Room with a View” and the 1993 Whoopi Goldberg comedy “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.” But she became a global star in the autumn of her career after starring in the “Harry Potter” film series, which ran from 2001 to 2011. Dame Maggie Smith, venerable British actress, dies at 89 – KVIA In 2010, she was cast as the quick-witted Dowager Countess in “Downton Abbey,” which earned her a number of awards, including three Emmys and a Golden Globe.
