Maggie Smith Passes Away, Harry Potter and Downton Abbey Star Was 89

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Maggie Smith Passes Away, Harry Potter and Downton Abbey Star Was 89

Dame Maggie Smith has passed away. The Harry Potter and Downton Abbey star was 89.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” Smith’s sons announced in a statement, via CNN. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. 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. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”

Smith was born on December 28, 1934, in Ilford, Essex. She attended the Oxford Playhouse School from 1951 to 1953 and made her stage debut in a production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night put on by the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

She was prominent in the theater scene throughout her career, as she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for 1990’s Lettice and Lovage. She was also nominated for several other Tony Awards and Laurence Olivier Awards.

Smith won Academy Awards for Best Actress for her role in 1969’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Best Supporting Actress for 1978’s California Suite. She was also nominated for her performances in 1965’s Othello, 1972’s Travels with My Aunt, 1986’s A Room with a View, and 2001’s Gosford Park.

She was known for playing Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series and Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey.

Her filmography also includes 1978’s Death on the Nile, 1991’s Hook, 1993’s The Secret Garden, 2012’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 2015’s The Lady in the Van, and many more.