Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith CH DBE (December 28, 1934 − September 27, 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in comedic roles, she had an extensive career on stage and screen over seven decades and was one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses. She received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award as well as nominations for six Laurence Olivier Awards. Smith was one of the few performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting. Smith began her stage career as a student, performing at the Oxford Playhouse in 1952, and made her professional debut on Broadway in New Faces of '56. Over the following decades Smith established herself alongside Judi Dench as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. On Broadway, she received Tony Award nominations for Noël Coward's Private Lives (1975) and Tom Stoppard's Night and Day (1979), and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Lettice and Lovage (1990). She won Academy Awards for Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and Best Supporting Actress for California Suite (1978). She was Oscar-nominated for Othello (1965), Travels with My Aunt (1972), A Room with a View (1985) and Gosford Park (2001). She portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). She also acted in Death on the Nile (1978), Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), The Secret Garden (1993), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), Quartet (2012) and The Lady in the Van (2015). Smith received newfound attention and international fame for her role as Violet Crawley in the British period drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). The role earned her three Primetime Emmy Awards; she had previously won one for the HBO film My House in Umbria (2003). Over the course of her career she was the recipient of numerous honorary awards including the…
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- 1934-12-28 · Ilford, Essex, England, UK
- Died
- 2024-09-27
Known for
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) — Professor McGonagall
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) — Minerva McGonagall
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) — Minerva McGonagall
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) — Minerva McGonagall
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) — Minerva McGonagall
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) — Minerva McGonagall
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) — Minerva McGonagall
- Hook (1991) — Granny Wendy
- Sister Act (1992) — Mother Superior
- Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) — Lady Bluebury (voice)
- Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) — Mother Superior
- Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010) — Mrs. Docherty
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) — Muriel Donnelly
- Gosford Park (2001) — Constance Trentham
- Downton Abbey (2019) — Violet Crawley
- Becoming Jane (2007) — Lady Gresham