Dame Maggie Smith Has Passed at Age 89

By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | September 27, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | September 27, 2024 |

British actress Dame Maggie Smith, known for her razor-sharp dry wit and her command of the screen, died this morning in a London hospital. “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” said Smith’s family in a statement.

Born in 1934, Smith began her acting career on the stage before transitioning to film and television. Over her seven-decade career, she became one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation, winning two Academy Awards, five BAFTAs, four Emmys, and one Tony Award.

She’s probably best known to contemporary audiences, however, for her roles as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies (filmed, in part, while she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer) and as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. It was her performances in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and California Suite, however, that earned her Oscar wins.

And witty, she is. Here she is talking about her newfound fame on Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, the latter of which she admits she’s never watched.

This is a fun clip, too, where Maggie Smith and Joan Plowright give Judi Dench shit because all their roles get offered to her first.

And, finally, because I couldn’t resist: Here’s Ian McKellan doing a Maggie Smith impression while telling a story that sums up her sense of humor.

RIP, Dame Maggie Smith. May her memory be a blessing.