Dame Maggie Smith’s tragic admission before death
In a rare insight into her private life, Maggie Smith made a gut-wrenching admission in 2013 about the reason her life felt “pointless”.
Iconic actress Dame Maggie Smith has passed away aged 89.
The beloved British star died in a London hospital early Friday morning local time.
Her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens shared the sad news in a statement shared via their publicist.
“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” it read.
“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.”
While her exact cause of death has not yet been revealed, Smith has been very open about her health issues in the past. She suffered from glaucoma, Graves’ disease and breast cancer, and she underwent hip-replacement surgery in her 80s.
Smith’s incredible career spanned 70 years both on stage and screen.
She played the incredibly famous Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter blockbuster film franchise.
Smith was well-known for bringing her scathing wit to other roles, including as Violet Crawley in the British TV period drama Downton Abbey.
Smith’s private heartbreak
The acting legend spent the last two decades of her life missing her husband Beverley Cross after making a heartbreaking admission following his death.
The couple were married for 23 years before Beverley tragically passed away in 1998.
In a 2013 interview with 60 Minutes, Maggie spoke briefly about mourning the loss of her husband.
“I don’t know. It (life) seems a bit pointless,” she said.
“Going on one’s own and not having someone to share it with.”
They first met in 1952 in Oxford, where Beverley was a student.
It was love at first sight for the playwright when he spotted 18-year-old Maggie, even though he was married to someone else.
Unable to shake the feeling that Maggie was the one, Beverley divorced his wife and quickly proposed to the legend.
But the divorce took longer than expected.
Despite Beverley begging for Maggie to wait for him, she married actor Robert Stephens.
During their eight-year marriage, Maggie and Robert had two kids before calling it quits in 1975.
She swiftly reignited the flame with Beverley and the rest became history - with him helping raise her two sons, Chris and Toby.
On being able to find Beverley again, she said: “I’m remarkably fortunate. When you meet again someone you should have married in the first place, it’s like a script.
“That kind of luck is too good to be true.”
Long-spanning career
She was born Margaret Natalie Smith in December 1934 in Ilford, east London, to a Scottish secretary mum and pathologist dad.
The star moved to Oxford when she was four after her father got a job at the university and later left school to study acting at the Oxford Playhouse.
Aged just 17, Maggie got her first role as Viola in Twelfth Night before appearing in Cinderella, Rookery Nook and The Government Inspector.
In 1957, she landed a role opposite Kenneth Williams in the musical comedy Share My Lettuce.
This led to regular appearances in a string of plays at the Old Vic theatre, including The Rehearsal and Mary, Mary.
While starring in The Double Dealer, Maggie caught the eye of Laurence Olivier who invited her to become part of his National Theatre Company.
Maggie went on to appear opposite the actor in Othello, with the pair famed for their professional rivalry.
In 1958, the actress made her screen debut in Nowhere to Go but it wasn’t until her Oscar-winning performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 11 years later that she gained international fame.
Maggie continued to appear on stage in a number of plays - winning a Tony Award for her role in Broadway comedy Private Lives.
During this time, she won her second Academy Award for best supporting actress in California Suite alongside Michael Caine.
Maggie received further nominations for roles in A Room with a View and Gosford Park.
She appeared in a number of comedies, including Sister Act, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Quartet.
Maggie won three Emmys for her role in Downton Abbey and she became a firm fan favourite in the show for her acerbic put-downs during the five-year series and two subsequent films.
Away from the screen, Maggie married actor Robert Stephens in June 1967.
The couple shared two sons, actors Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, before they divorced eight years later,
Maggie later went on to wed playwright Beverley Cross in 1975 before his death in 1998.
The actress was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1990 and was named a Companion of Honour (CH) in 2014.
Speaking about her glittering career previously, Maggie said: “Honest to God, I have no idea where the urge [to act] came from.
“It was such a ghastly time and we didn’t go to the theatre.
“I got into terrible trouble once because the neighbours took me to the cinema on a Sunday, but I had a wonderful teacher, Dorothy”
Tributes flow
Many of Smith’s former co-stars took to social media to pay tribute to her after the news of her death was released.
Smith “saw through the nonsense and razzmatazz” of acting and “had a sense of humour and wit that could reduce me to a blithering puddle of giggles”, Kristin Scott Thomas said in an emotional tribute to her My Old Lady co-star.
“So very, very sad to know she has gone. She was a true inspiration. She took acting very seriously but saw through the nonsense and razzmatazz,” Thomas wrote on Instagram.
“She really didn’t want to deal with that. She had a sense of humour and wit that could reduce me to a blithering puddle of giggles. And she did not have patience with fools.”
The actress admitted that you “had to be a bit careful” but that she “absolutely adored” Smith, describing her comedic timing as “perfection”.
“The last time I saw her she was very cross about being old. ‘Maddening’, I think she said,’” she added.
Whoopi Goldberg, who starred alongside Smith in Sister Act also paid tribute, calling her a “great woman” and “brilliant actress”.
“I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind’. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family…RIP,” she wrote on Instagram.
Meanwhile, actor Rob Lowe - who appeared in 1993 BBC drama Suddenly, Last Summer with Smith - described her as a “lion”.
“Saddened to hear Dame Maggie Smith has passed,” he wrote on X.
“I had the unforgettable experience of working with her; sharing a two-shot was like being paired with a lion.
“She could eat anyone alive, and often did. But funny, and great company. And suffered no fools. We will never see another. God speed, Ms. Smith!”
King Charles posted a personal message in honour of Smith on the Royal Family’s official X account, writing that he and Queen Camilla were “deeply saddened” to hear the news of her death.
“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 on and off the stage.”
Even British Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to the acting legend on X, writing that she “introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career.”
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“She was beloved by so many for her great talent, becoming a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come,” he shared.
“Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace.”
-With The Sun
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