(MENAFN- Live Mint) One of Britain's best-known actresses, Dame Maggie Smith , known for playing the dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey and the acerbic Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter films, died on 27 September at the age of 89 at London.
The news of her demise in a London hospital was confirmed by her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens in a statement, issued through publicist Clair Dobbs and quoted by The Guardian,“She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27 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.”
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“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,” the statement added.
Maggie Smith: Childhood
Born as Margaret Natalie Smith on 28 December 1934 to Margaret Hutton and Nathaniel Smith at Essex, moved to with her family to Oxford when she was four years old. She went to Oxford High School until the age of 16, following which she left to study acting at the Oxford Playhouse.
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In 1952, Smith began her career as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse at the age of 17 and made her Broadway debut in 1956.
Smith appeared in her first film in 1956, a British Drama called Child in the House. For her role as Bridget Howard in the film Nowhere to Go, Smith received the first of her 18 British Academy Film Award nominations.
In the year 1965, Smith earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film adaptation of Othello as Desdemona. By that time, she was appearing in a in the British comedies like Go to Blazes, The Pumpkin Eater, and more.
Maggie Smith: Awards
In 1969, Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the title role of the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The role also won Smith her first BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress.
In 1978, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for California Suite and won her first Golden Globe Award for the same role.
In 1984, Smith won her second Best Actress BAFTA Film Awards for her role as Joyce Chilvers in the black comedy A Private Function.
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Smith won her fourth BAFTA Film Awards for Best Actress for the title role in the 1987 film The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne. While her fifth BAFTA award arrived for Best Supporting Actress for the 1999 film Tea with Mussolini.
After winning so many awards, she gained significant international recognition and acclaim for playing Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies, based on author J K Rowling.
Between 2010-2015, Smith appeared as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the British period drama Downton Abbey, which became a cultural phenomenon. She also continued to appear for theatres.
In 2014, Smith was made a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) for services to drama in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours.
With agency inputs.
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