Dame Maggie Smith star of Harry Potter and Downton Abbey dies aged 89

-Credit: (Image: 2Trom News Group)
-Credit: (Image: 2Trom News Group)


Film and TV legend Dame Maggie Smith has died at the age of 89, her family has confirmed. The star of Harry Potter and Downton Abbey died in hospital on Friday (September 27).

Her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens confirmed the tragic news on Friday afternoon. Dame Maggie was born in Ilford in Essex to her mum, Margaret Hutton, a Scottish secretary, and her father, Nathaniel Smith, a pathologist.

She remained in Essex until she was four when her family moved to Oxford. Aged just 17 she began her career with a performance as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse.

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Ten years after that performance she won the first of a record six Best Actress Evening Standard Awards for her roles in Peter Shaffer's plays The Private Ear and The Public Eye.

In a statement issued via their publicist, Dame Maggie Smith's sons 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, Friday 27th September.

"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."

She emerged as a star in 1969 with the Academy Award for Best Actress in the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She enjoyed an incredible 70-year career wowing audiences on stage and screen.

Younger fans know her for performances as Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter as well as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey. She also appeared in a number of comedies including Sister Act, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Quartet.