Maggie Smith, star of ‘Downton Abbey,’ ‘Harry Potter,’ dies at 89
Baku, September 28, AZERTAC
British stage and screen actress Maggie Smith, the “Downton Abbey” and “Harry Potter” star who numbers two Oscars, three Emmys and countless stage awards to her credit, died Friday in London at the age of 89, according to Variety.
In her late 70s, Smith drew an entirely new legion of fans thanks to her starring role in the hugely successful series “Downton Abbey,” a hit for ITV, PBS’ “Masterpiece” and around the world. She picked up two Emmys and was nominated for two more for her role as the Dowager Countess.
And like virtually every other British actor or actress, Smith appeared in a number of entries in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, playing Professor Minerva McGonagall.
A master at classical and contemporary roles who was as renowned for her subtlety as for her broad-stroke mannerisms, the red-haired Smith delighted several generations of theatergoers on both sides of the Atlantic with signature performances in “Mary, Mary,” “Hedda Gabler,” “Othello,” “Private Lives,” “Night and Day” and “Lettice and Lovage,” and audiences around the world for her work in such films as “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” “California Suite,” “A Room With a View,” “Travels With My Aunt,” “Hot Millions,” “A Private Function,” “Gosford Park,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and its sequel.
In 2015 she starred in “The Lady in the Van,” Alan Bennett’s adaptation of his play, based on his true experiences, and directed by Nicholas Hytner, who had helmed the play.
In 1990, she was named Dame Commander of the British Empire, one of only a handful of her generation, including Judi Dench and Diana Rigg, to be so honored.
Margaret Smith was born in Ilford, Essex, and attended the Oxford School for Girls before studying theater at the Oxford Playhouse School. By 1952 she was appearing in Oxford U. stage productions, revues in particular, such as “On the Fringe,” with which she sometimes traveled. When “On the Fringe” reached the West End, American producer Leonard Sillman saw her and asked her to join the Broadway variety show “New Faces of 1956”; she was the only Brit.
Smith’s first Evening Standard award came for Peter Shaffer’s “The Private Ear/The Public Eye.” Her next triumph was Jean Kerr’s “Mary, Mary.”
Hollywood began to take notice of the actress at about this time: She held her own in a supporting role in the Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor vehicle “The V.I.P.s” in 1963 and was equally effective the following year in drama “The Pumpkin Eaters,” starring Anne Bancroft. Olivier then asked her to join his National Theatre Company as his Desdemona in “Othello,” which brought her theatrical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for the film version. For the National Theater, she racked up such productions as “The Recruiting Officer,” “The Master Builder,” a triumphant “Hay Fever,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Miss Julie,” “Black Comedy,” “A Bond Honoured” and an Ingmar Bergman-directed “Hedda Gabler,” which brought her another Evening Standard Award in 1970.
She earned an Emmy in 2003 for the HBO telepic “My House in Umbria,” was nominated again in 2010 for “Capturing Mary,” then earned two more for her regular role as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the celebrated U.K. TV series “Downton Abbey.”
In the 2000s, Smith made a solid impact in mainstream features with supporting roles in “Gosford Park,” “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” “Becoming Jane,” “Keeping Mum” and “Nanny McPhee Returns.” She was introduced to the masses of J.K. Rowling fans when she played Minerva McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” movie series. However, amid production of the “Potter” pics, Smith, at age 74, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She made a full recovery and returned to the big and small screen.
Her work continued with a role in 2009’s “From Time to Time,” voicework in the 2011 animated pic “Gnomeo and Juliet,” as well as appearances in hit film “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and its sequel. In 2012 Smith starred in the Dustin Hoffman-directed “Quartet,” Ronald Harwood’s adaptation of his own play about folks at a retirement home for opera singers, and she starred in “My Old Lady,” Israel Horovitz’s feature directorial debut based on his own play.
Smith married actor Robert Stephens in 1967. After divorcing Stephens she married writer Beverly Cross in 1976; he died in 1998. She is survived by two sons, actors Christopher Larkin and Toby Stephens, and grandchildren.
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