Dame Maggie Smith dies aged 89
Dame Maggie Smith has passed away, aged 89. (Getty)
Actress Dame Maggie Smith has passed away “peacefully” at the age of 89.
Smith, best known for starring as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise and Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, died on Friday 27 September, her family confirmed.
A statement from her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin (via BBC) said: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith.
“She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning. 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.”
Smith was born on 28 December in 1934. Her career in film has seen her act in more than 60 films, but she first stepped on stage professionally on Broadway in 1956 in New Faces of ’56.
The stage and screen icon memorably appeared in films including 1992’s Sister Act (1992) and its sequel which was released a year later, Sister Act II: Back in the Habit. She also starred in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in 2011 and The Lady in the Van in 2015.
She married her first husband, Robert Stephens, in 1967. They later divorced but share two sons, Chris and Toby. She was married to playwright Alan Beverly Cross from 975 until his death 1998.
Smith won countless awards during the course of her career, securing her first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1970 for her performance in The Prime of Miss Jean the year before.
In 1990, she won the Tony Awards for Best Actress for her performance in Lettice and Lovage. She has also won five BAFTA Awards, four of which were for best actress.
Smith had been open about her struggle with Graves’ disease, a condition caused by hyperthyroidism, and in an interview with the New York Times she described her experience with the disease and thyroid eye disease as being “like a fog of despair”.
She also had a scare with breast cancer in 2007, while filming Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. Two years later she shared that she had recovered.
Smith met the late Queen Elizabeth more than once following being given the title of Dame in 1990. In 2014 she was awarded with the Order of the Companions of Honor, which is given to those who have “made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine or government lasting over a long period of time.”
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