Maggie Smith, the celebrated and multi-award-winning actor whose illustrious career spanned decades with roles in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Harry Potter, and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89.
Her sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, confirmed the news in a statement: “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was surrounded by friends and family at the end. She leaves behind two sons and five loving grandchildren, all of whom are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and kindness during her final days. We also appreciate your kind messages and support and ask for privacy at this time.”
Known for her sharp wit and mastery of comedy, Smith’s talent shone in roles like the acerbic Jean Brodie—winning her an Oscar—along with other memorable performances in A Room With a View, Gosford Park, and several collaborations with Alan Bennett, including The Lady in the Van. Despite excelling in comedy, she once reflected on her career with a touch of irony: “I think I got pigeonholed in humour… If you do comedy, you kind of don’t count. Comedy is never considered the real thing.”
Her dramatic range was just as impressive. Smith starred opposite Laurence Olivier for the National Theatre, earned a BAFTA for The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, and took on the title role in Ingmar Bergman’s 1970 production of Hedda Gabler.
Born in 1934 in Oxford, Smith began her acting career at the city’s Playhouse Theatre as a teenager. She made her mark in film with the 1958 thriller Nowhere to Go, for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA. She was invited by Olivier to join the National Theatre in 1962, where she performed in several major productions, including Othello, for which both she and Olivier received Oscar nominations after its 1965 film adaptation.
In 1969, Smith took on the lead in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, portraying a teacher enamored with Mussolini, which won her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1970. Another Oscar followed in 1979 for her supporting role in California Suite. Over the years, Smith’s remarkable versatility was evident in roles ranging from her work in A Private Function and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne to her collaborations with Merchant Ivory in A Room With a View.
In addition to her film career, Smith thrived on stage, playing Virginia Woolf in 1980 and winning acclaim for her 1987 role in Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage. She remained a fixture in British television and radio, notably in Bennett’s Talking Heads series.
Smith also enjoyed success in later life with roles in Tea With Mussolini, Gosford Park, and Ladies in Lavender, as well as taking on the beloved character of Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series. Her portrayal of the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey became one of her most iconic roles, continuing through two feature films in 2019 and 2022. She achieved a late-career triumph with The Lady in the Van, reprising a role she first played on stage in 1999.
Smith was married twice—first to actor Robert Stephens, with whom she shared a life from 1967 to 1975, and later to Beverley Cross, to whom she was married from 1975 until his death in 1998.