Maggie Smith

For other people named Maggie Smith, see Maggie Smith (disambiguation).

Dame
Maggie Smith
CH DBE
Black-and-white portrait of Maggie Smith
Smith c. 1970
Born
Margaret Natalie Smith

(1934-12-28)28 December 1934
Ilford, Essex, England
Died27 September 2024(2024-09-27) (aged 89)
London, England
OccupationActress
Spouses
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​
(m. 1967; div. 1975)​
​
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(m. 1975; died 1998)​
Children
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Maggie Smith

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith CH DBE (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had an extensive career on stage and screen for over seven decades and was one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses.[1] She received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for six Olivier Awards. Smith is one of the few performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting.[2]

Smith began her stage career as a student, performing at the Oxford Playhouse in 1952, and made her professional debut on Broadway in New Faces of '56. Over the following decades Smith established herself alongside Judi Dench as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. On Broadway, she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Lettice and Lovage (1990). She was Tony-nominated for Noël Coward's Private Lives (1975) and Tom Stoppard's Night and Day (1979).

Smith won Academy Awards for Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and Best Supporting Actress for California Suite (1978). She was Oscar-nominated for Othello (1965), Travels with My Aunt (1972), A Room with a View (1985) and Gosford Park (2001).[3] She portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). She also acted in Death on the Nile (1978), Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), The Secret Garden (1993), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), Quartet (2012) and The Lady in the Van (2015).

Smith received newfound attention and international fame for her role as Violet Crawley in the British period drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). The role earned her three Primetime Emmy Awards; she had previously won one for the HBO film My House in Umbria (2003).[4][5] Over the course of her career she was the recipient of numerous honorary awards, including the British Film Institute Fellowship in 1993, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1996 and the Society of London Theatre Special Award in 2010.[6][7][3] Smith was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.[8]

  1. ^ "Maggie Smith | Biography, Movies, & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Triple Crown of Acting Winners". GoldDerby. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Maggie Smith BAFTA Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  4. ^ O'Neil, Tom (9 July 2010). "What do Al Pacino and Maggie Smith have in common?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  5. ^ Croggon, Alison (10 June 2009). "Jewel in the triple crown". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  6. ^ "BAFTA Awards Search | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Dame Maggie Smith's BAFTA Special Award Acceptance Speech in 1993". Youtube. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  8. ^ Spears, W. (30 December 1989). "Queen Honors Naipaul, Maggie Smith". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2014.