Maggie Smith

British actress (1934–2024)

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith CH DBE (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. She made her stage debut in 1952 and her career lasted for over 70 years. She won many awards for acting, both for the stage and for movies, including seven BAFTA Awards (five competitive awards and two special awards including the Bafta Fellowship in 1996), two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, two Emmy Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, two SAG Awards and a Tony Award.


Maggie Smith

Smith in 1973
Born
Margaret Natalie Smith

(1934-12-28)28 December 1934
Died27 September 2024(2024-09-27) (aged 89)
London, England, UK
NationalityBritish
OccupationActress
Years active1952–2024
Spouses
  • (m. 1967; div. 1974)
  • (m. 1975; died 1998)
Children
Film Awards
Academy Awards
1969Best Actress
1978Best Supporting Actress
British Academy Film Awards
1969, 1984, 1986, 1988Best Actress
1999Best Supporting Actress
1996Fellowship
Golden Globe Awards
1978Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1986Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Screen Actors Guild Awards
2001Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Career

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Her award winning movies include Othello (1965), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), Travels with My Aunt (1972), California Suite (1978), Clash of the Titans (1981), A Room with a View (1985) and Gosford Park (2001).

She has also been in a number of widely-popular movies, including Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992) and as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movie series. Smith said that acting in the Harry Potter movies was not fully satisfying.[1] However, she said she enjoyed being a part of the franchise because it allowed her to bond with her grandchildren.[2] Smith underwent intensive chemotherapy for breast cancer while filming Half-Blood Prince. The treatment left her feeling "horribly sick", but she eventually made a full recovery.[3]

She had a role in the drama Downton Abbey as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, for which she has won an Emmy.

Personal life

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Smith was born in Ilford, Essex. She moved to Oxford at age four and went to Oxford High School.

Smith has been married twice. She married actor Robert Stephens on 29 June 1967 at Greenwich. The couple had two sons: actors Chris Larkin (born in 1967) and Toby Stephens (born in 1969).[4] They divorced on 6 May 1974.[4][5]

She married playwright Beverley Cross on 23 August 1975 at Guildford. He died on 20 March 1998.

In 2007, The Sunday Telegraph reported that she had breast cancer. She has made a full recovery.[6]

Smith died on 27 September 2024 at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, at the age of 89.[7]

Filmography

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Television and cinema

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Year Title Role Notes
1998 Dr. Dolittle Brenda Dolittle
1958 Nowhere to Go Bridget Howard Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
1962 Go to Blazes Chantal
1963 The V.I.P.s Miss Mead Nominated — Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress
1964 The Pumpkin Eater Philpot
1965 Othello Desdemona
Young Cassidy Nora Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1967 The Honey Pot Sarah Watkins
1968 Hot Millions Patty Terwilliger Smith
1969 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Jean Brodie
1969 Oh! What a Lovely War Music Hall Star
1972 Travels with My Aunt Aunt Augusta
1973 Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing Lila Fisher
1974 The Carol Burnett Show Gwendylspire Boughgrough
1975 The Carol Burnett Show Ms. Collins
1976 Murder by Death Dora Charleston
1978 Death on the Nile Miss Bowers Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
California Suite Diana Barrie
1981 Quartet Lois Heidler Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Clash of the Titans Thetis Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1982 Evil Under the Sun Daphne Castle
The Missionary Lady Isabel Ames
Better Late Than Never Miss Anderson
1984 A Private Function Joyce Chilvers BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Lily in Love Lily Wynn Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actress
1985 A Room with a View Charlotte Bartlett
1987 The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne Judith Hearne BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Talking Heads Susan Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actress
1991 Hook Wendy Darling
1992 Sister Act Reverend Mother
Memento Mori Mrs. Mabel Pettigrew Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actress
1993 Suddenly, Last Summer Violet Venable Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit Reverend Mother
The Secret Garden Mrs. Medlock Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1995 Richard III Duchess of York
1996 The First Wives Club Gunilla Garson Goldberg National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
1997 Washington Square Aunt Lavinia Penniman Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress
1999 Curtain Call Lily Gale
The Last September Lady Myra Naylor
Tea with Mussolini Lady Hester Random BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
All the King's Men Queen Alexandra
David Copperfield Betsey Trotwood
2001 Gosford Park Constance, Countess of Trentham
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Professor Minerva McGonagall
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Professor Minerva McGonagall Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Caro Eliza Bennett
2003 My House in Umbria Emily Delahunty
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Professor Minerva McGonagall
Ladies in Lavender Janet Widdington Nominated — European Film Award for Best Actress
2005 Keeping Mum Grace Hawkins
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Professor Minerva McGonagall
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Professor Minerva McGonagall
Becoming Jane Lady Gresham
Capturing Mary Mary Gilbert Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Professor Minerva McGonagall
From Time to Time Linnet Oldknow
2010 Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang Mrs. Docherty
2010–2022 Downton Abbey Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
TV Times Award for Best Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Monte Carlo Television Festival Award for Outstanding Actress
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2011 Gnomeo & Juliet Lady Bluebury
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Professor Minerva McGonagall
2012 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Muriel Donnelly
Quartet Jean Horton post-production

Theatre roles

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References

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  1. Oliver, Mark (5 November 2001). "Rowling: 'It is as I imagined it inside my head'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  2. Peppin, Hayley (6 December 2019). "Professor McGonagall actress Maggie Smith said working on 'Harry Potter' 'didn't feel like acting' and 'wasn't satisfying'". Insider. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  3. "Maggie Smith Discusses Cancer Treatment Struggle". The Telegraph. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Maggie Smith biography Archived 2012-12-09 at Archive.today. Tiscali.film & TV.
  5. Maggie Smith. Film Reference.com.
  6. "Actress Maggie Smith recounts cancer battle". Google.com. 2009-10-05. Archived from the original on 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
  7. "Actress Dame Maggie Smith dies at 89". BBC News. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.

Other websites

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