(Lady Commonwealth/ Feature) The renowned British actress Dame Maggie Smith, who was recognized for her broad and remarkable career spanning more than eight decades, passed away at the age of 89. Smith, who has gained international acclaim for her exceptional versatility on stage and television, has played a variety of parts in plays ranging from modern tragedies to Shakespearean classics.
Early life
Margaret Natalie Smith was born On December 28, 1934 in Ilford, Essex. Her parents were Nathaniel Smith, a public-health pathologist from Newcastle upon Tyne who worked at the University of Oxford, and Margaret Hutton (née Little), a Scottish secretary from Glasgow. When Smith was four years old, the family relocated to Oxford. Ian and Alistair were her older twin brothers. The latter attended a school for architects. Smith completed her education at Oxford High School till she left at the age of sixteen to pursue an acting degree at the Oxford Playhouse.
Smith made her stage debut as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse in 1952 at the age of seventeen, with the support of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. She kept performing, appearing in shows at the Oxford Playhouse such as The Government Inspector (1954), Cakes and Ale (1953), Rookery Nook (1953), and Cinderella (1952). She had an appearance in Ned Sherrin’s television series Oxford Accents (1954) in the same year. Smith debuted on Broadway in the 1956 review New Faces of ’56, which ran from June to December at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. She played a number of roles in the production. She costarred with Kenneth Williams in Bamber Gascoigne’s musical comedy Share My Lettuce in 1957.
In 1956, Smith made her film debut in the British drama Child in the House, playing an uncredited role of a party guest. Her first screen credit, as Bridget Howard in the film Nowhere to Go, earned her the first of her eighteen British Academy Film Award nominations in 1959.
Dame Maggie was nominated for her first Oscar for playing Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare’s Othello in 1965. Among the actress’s other noteworthy performances was the 1985 Merchant Ivory film A Room With a View, for which she was nominated for a second Oscar and a Bafta.
In the 1999 film Tea with Mussolini, she played an English woman living in 1930s Italy; in the two Sister Act films, she played the strict yet just Reverend Mother.
Her last screen role was just a year ago, when she starred in The Miracle Club. She was one of just a few actors to win the triple crown of major American awards: two Oscars, four Emmys, and a Tony; she also won seven Baftas and an honorary Olivier Award back home.
Her best-known performances
Dame Maggie’s portrayal of Desdemona in William Shakespeare’s Othello is among her most famous early performances. She was offered the role at the National Theatre in 1963 by Sir Laurence Olivier, who was playing the lead character.
Two years later, the production—which still featured the original cast—was adapted into a movie, for which Smith received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
In 1969, Dame Maggie gained worldwide recognition for her performance as the resolutely nonconformist teacher in the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
The character in the film was inspired by the author’s inspirational teacher. The 1961 novel by Muriel Spark is set in 1930s Edinburgh. Dame Maggie later married co-star Robert Stephens after winning the Oscar for best actress for the role.
Dame Maggie received praise from critics for her portrayal as Betsey Trotwood in a BBC version of David Copperfield. She was nominated for an Emmy and a Bafta for the role. Daniel Radcliffe, who she would later work with again in the Harry Potter films, costarred with her in this role when he was younger.
At the age of 67, Dame Maggie’s acting prowess was discovered by an entirely new generation. She portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2001. She was supposedly the only actor that author J.K. Rowling personally requested for her daunting role, which she portrayed in all eight films.
Dame Maggie received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2007 while filming Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, but she continued filming. After two years of treatment, she received the all-clear.
Dame Maggie featured on Downton Abbey, another massive smash, concurrently with her role in Harry Potter. She portrayed Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, on ITV’s British period drama from 2010 until 2015. She received three Primetime Emmy awards, a Bafta, a Golden Globe, and four Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal of the witty matriarchal figure. She reprised her role of Violet in the Downton Abbey films in 2019 and 2022.
One of Dame Maggie’s most famous later roles was as a homeless woman in The Lady In The Van. In the 2015 film, she starred as Miss Shepherd, who lived in a battered van in playwright Alan Bennett’s driveway for 15 years. Her performance in the comedy-drama was described as “terrifically good” and “magnificent” by critics. She received a Golden Globe award and was nominated for a Bafta.
In 1999, Dame Maggie played the title role in the play that debuted in London’s West End based on Bennett’s memoir. She was nominated for a 2000 Olivier Award as best actress for her performance.
Dame Maggie was known for her sharp tongue on screen and off during her varied and acclaimed career.
Paying Tribute
Radcliffe stated: “She was incredibly witty, as everyone will tell you, fiercely intelligent, and had a sharp tongue. She could frighten and charm in the same breath.
“I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set. The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.”
Emma Watson claimed that until she was an adult, she didn’t fully understand that young Hermione was sharing the screen “with a true definition of greatness”. She recalled the celebrity as “real, honest, funny, and self-honouring” in an Instagram post. “Maggie, there are a lot of male professors and by God you held your own.”
In an Instagram post, Rupert Grint, who portrayed Ron Weasley in the movies, expressed his gratitude for being “incredibly lucky to have shared a set with [Dame Maggie] and particularly lucky to have shared a dance”.
“As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances, and her warmth and wit that shone through both off and on the stage,” said King Charles and Queen Camilla in their tribute.
“It was my privilege to make two films alongside the legendary Maggie Smith,” stated Michael Caine adding that he will miss `a wonderful friend and extremely talented actress’.
She “introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career”, Sir Keir Starmer UK Prime Minister said.
Smith costarred in the Sister Act movie alongside Whoopi Goldberg, who declared, “Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress.” It still amazes me that I had the good fortune to collaborate with a “one of a kind.” My sincere sympathies are with the family.
Smith’s co-star on Downton Abbey, Hugh Bonneville, remarked, “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit, and formidable talent.” Owing to her several amazing on-screen roles, she will thankfully continue to live on as a real legend of her generation. My sympathies go out to her boys and her entire family.
Peaceful Parting
Her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin announced her passing “with great sadness” on Friday, adding that she “passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning”.
“A deeply private individual, she was surrounded by friends and family at the end,” they said. The loss of their remarkable mother and grandma has devastated her two sons and five beloved grandchildren.”
They expressed gratitude to “the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days”.
They continued: “We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”
Generations to come will surely be inspired by Dame Maggie Smith’s unmatched legacy in theatre and film, which is a monument to her extraordinary talent, grace, and commitment to her profession.
