Remembering Dame Maggie Smith
On September 27, 2024, one of the most influential and beloved British actresses, widely known for her roles in “Harry Potter” and “Downton Abbey,” passed away at the age of eighty-nine. Dame Maggie Smith (1934-2024), renowned for her wit and charm both on and off stage, was a star in many well-known films and television shows.
In 1990, the late Queen Elizabeth knighted Smith for her achievements in acting and performance, and Smith received the Triple Crown of Acting in 2003, which only fifteen other actresses have won in the history of the American entertainment industry. Alongside these great accomplishments, one of the first people to have a star on the Avenue of Stars, the British version of the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, was Maggie Smith herself (IMDb).
Smith started her acting career as a student performing in the Oxford Playhouse in 1952, when she was sixteen, before making her professional premiere on Broadway four years later in 1956. Smith acted alongside famous performers and playwrights, such as Judi Dench, Alan Bennet, and her first husband Beverly Cross. She worked for the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company over the course of her career.
In “Harry Potter” (2001-2011), Smith embodied the role of Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House and deputy headmistress of Albus Dumbledore. Through this character, she channeled McGonagall’s no-nonsense personality with plenty of her own wit interlaced throughout. The author of the “Harry Potter” book series, J. K. Rowling, specially requested Smith, alongside Robbie Coltrane, who acted as Hagrid, for the movie version of the series, as mentioned by Hugh Davies for The Telegraph, due to Smith’s reputation for being such a splendid actress. Despite her notable portrayal of Professor McGonagall, Smith commented that she did not find the role challenging, as the personality of the fictional professor alined well with Smith’s own nature, as she had a perfect mix of sternness and a unique and memorable warmth (ScreenRant).
Smith played a key role in “Downton Abbey” (2010-2015), another well-known film production. As Violet Crawley, Smith won several Emmy awards, as identified by Hayley Peppin and Eve Crosbie for Business Insider, because she was the perfect embodiment of the quick-witted Dowager Countess of Grantham.
“It’s true I don’t tolerate fools, but then they don’t tolerate me, so I am spiky. Maybe that’s why I’m quite good at playing spiky elderly ladies.” Smith stated in an interview, according to AP News, via Jill Lawless.
Losing Maggie Smith greatly impacted the acting world along with any who knew her. In memory of the beloved actress, King Charles II and his wife, Queen Camilla, remarked in a statement as specified by AP News, “As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances, and her warmth and wit that shone through both off and on the stage.”