The BBC has announced that screen and stage star Dame Maggie Smith has died in hospital at the age of 89.
The actress, who is best known for playing Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies, won two Oscars during her 60-year career.
Her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin have released a statement saying: "It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith.
"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.
"We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time."
Dame Maggie Smith obituary: An iconic talent of stage and screen
Dame Maggie Smith was widely regarded as one of the most talented performers of all time. Her incredible range saw her shine in a wide variety of roles in a career that spanned six decades, appealing to generations of viewers.
Born in Ilford, Essex, in 1934, Maggie began her career – as many actors did at that time – in rep. Working as a prompt girl at Oxford Repertory, she once claimed she never got a chance to go on stage as no-one fell ill.
Her company moved to London in 1955, where she caught the eye of Leonard Stillman. He cast her in New Faces, which opened on Broadway in 1956, and a star was born.
In 1958, she was nominated for a Bafta as best newcomer for her role in Nowhere to Go. In 1963, Laurence Olivier cast her in his Othello at the National Theatre. The show was then made into a film two years later, earning Maggie Smith an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Desdemona.
One of the (many) standout roles of her career came in 1969, playing the titular teacher in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which won her an Oscar for Best Actress. She also won herself a husband – marrying co-star Robert Stephens. She also earned a third Oscar nomination for Best Actress playing Aunt Augusta in Travels with My Aunt.
Dame Maggie Smith continued with roles in theatre, including playing Lady Macbeth and also maintained a varied film career, playing opposite another legend, Peter Ustinov, in Death on the Nile.
Yet another Oscar nomination came in the eighties, for her role in A Room with a View, which also saw her win a Golden Globe. This era also saw her collaborate with Alan Bennett, with her memorably appearing in his Talking Heads series as an ageing alcoholic vicar’s wife.
The nineties saw Maggie Smith make appearances in a variety of films including Sister Act, alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Hook, and The Secret Garden.
Into the 2000’s, and we all enjoyed Maggie Smith in the BBC’s production of David Copperfield, where she played Betsey Trotwood, earning yet another Bafta and Emmy nomination.
But it was her role in the Harry Potter movies which earned her a whole new legion of fans. As Professor McGonagall, she had a no-nonsense attitude which entertained fans as well as cast and crew. She reprised her role in all of the films and reportedly she was the only actor that JK Rowling specifically asked for when the films were being cast.
2004 saw her appear on screen opposite her long-term friend, Dame Judi Dench, in Ladies in Lavender, a perfectly wonderful gently drama that remains a real treat to watch.
She then went on to play the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey until 2015, reprising the role in two films in 2019 and 2022. As mother to Hugh Bonneville’s Lord Grantham, she enjoyed playing the ‘spiky elderly lady,’ because she said ‘I don’t tolerate fools… I am spiky.’ She also enjoyed sparring on screen opposite Penelope Wilton who played Isobel Crawley.
Dame Maggie Smith earned yet another Bafta nomination for her role in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in 2012, and an Olivier for her moving performance as ‘The Lady in the Van,’ another Alan Bennett one-woman show which she performed on stage, on Radio 4, and on screen.
Dame Maggie Smith was renowned for her privacy, and rarely gave interviews. However, when she was once asked about her career choice, she said: “One went to school, one wanted to act, one started to act, and one's still acting."