Dame Maggie Smith has been a mainstay of the screen and stage for decades, winning multiple Academy Awards, BAFTAs, Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Tony Awards. Her fame had only grown over the years, with her role on Downton Abbey making her more recognizable than ever.
In an announcement issued by her publicist, her family has shared that she passed away in a London hospital at 89.
Her many iconic roles include several book to screen (or stage) adaptations. She appeared in adaptations of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, A Room with a View, Othello, Harry Potter, Death on the Nile, The Secret Garden, Travels With My Aunt, and more.
Despite her many awards and long career, it was Downton Abbey that made her a household name in her seventies. As the dowager countess Violet Crawley, she was the breakout star of its six season run. In a 2017 interview, she said, “It’s ridiculous. I’d led a perfectly normal life until Downton Abbey…Nobody knew who the hell I was.”
It’s impossible to distill Maggie Smith’s career into just a few paragraphs, but she left a lasting impression on the entertainment world, and she will be missed by fans around the world.
You can read more about her life at the New York Times.
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