British stage and screen actress Dame Maggie Smith, commonly recognized as the fierce but charming Professor McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” films, died Friday morning at the age of 89.
Smith was surrounded by close family when she died at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin told BBC News .
The renowned actress has won a multitude of awards over the span of her career including two Oscars, one in 1969 for Best Actress in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and the other in 1978 for Best Supporting Actress in “California Suite.” .
Smith’s work has also been recognized through four Primetime Emmy wins, and a Tony award in 1980 for Best Actress in “Lettice and Lovage.”
Winning an Oscar, Emmy and Tony, Smith achieved what is referred to as the “triple crown” award, becoming one of only 24 in history to do so.
She also won three Golden Globes and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2020 New England Film & Video Festival. These achievements, however, lie mere fragments in the full scope of her awards, which is listed on IMDB .
Margaret “Maggie” Natalie Smith was born to Nathanial Smith, a pathologist and Margaret Hutton-Smith, a secretary in Ilford, England on Dec. 28, 1934. Smith had twin brothers , six years older, Alistair and Ian, who both grew to become architects.
The actress made her official debut at the age of 18 as Viola in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Four years later in 1956, Smith made her Broadway debut in “New Faces of 1956,” according to the New York Times .
The same year, the actress made her on screen debut, starring as a party-guest in the 1956 drama, “Child in the House.”
Her famous stage name, Maggie Smith, was coined because there was already an actress named Margeret Smith, according to IMDB .
From the memorable Professor Mcgonagall in “Harry Potter” to the coldhearted Dowager Countess, Violet Crawley in “Downton Abbey” to a world traveler in 1972 film, “Travels With My Aunt,” Smith has played a wide range of roles in films with vastly differing stories.
In 1967, Smith married actor Robert Stephens and had two sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin before their divorce in 1974. She remarried a year later to playwright Beverly Cross and remained with him until his death in 1998.
In 1990, the actress received arguably her most honorable achievement of all, when she was made Dame to her countrymen by the late Queen Elizabeth. In 2014 she became a member of the Order of the Companions of Honor.
Maintaining an incredibly lively stance throughout her career, Smith refused to let health issues get in her way. In 1988, she was diagnosed with Graves Disease but was able to recover with radiotherapy and surgery, according to the New York Times .
Again Smith faced a scare when in 2008 she fought breast cancer, battling the disease in the midst of filming the “Harry Potter” movies.
Fast-forward to 2023, Smith was still acting, playing Lily Fox, an old Irish woman, in the Comedy/Drama “The Miracle Club.” In the movie, three women from Ballygar, Ireland make a pipeline up to Lourdes, France in hopes to be healed and strengthened by the holy waters of the land.
The film was released in March of 2023.
“Maggie Smith was a truly great actress and we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career,” the creator of “Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellowes, said in a statement to the Associated Press. “Working with her has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her.”
Smith is survived by her two sons, as well as her five grandchildren.
While Smith’s career has officially come to an end, the undeniable impact she has created in the film industry will reign strong forever.