Maggie Smith dead: Harry Potter & Downton Abbey star dies aged 89

British acting legend Dame Maggie Smith has died aged 89 after an incredible 70-year career on stage and screen.

Harry Potter star Maggie Smith has died aged 89 after an incredible 70-year career on stage and screen.

The beloved actress played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the blockbuster film franchise.

Smith was also well-known for bringing her scathing wit to other roles, including as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, reports The Sun.

Her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said she died in hospital early this morning.

In a statement issued via their publicist, they 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.”

Dame Maggie Smith has died.

Shortly after the statement was released, many of Smith’s former co-stars took to social media to pay tribute to her.

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 Camills 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 shon e 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.”

“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.”

Smith in a scene from the 2019 Downton Abbey film.

Smith was born Margaret Natalie Smith in December 1934 in Ilford, Essex, 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, Smith 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, Smith caught the eye of Laurence Olivier who invited her to become part of his National Theatre Company.

Smith 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.

Smith 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.

Smith 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.

In 2001, Smith took the role as Hogwarts deputy headmistress Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter series of films.

Smith starred in the Harry Potter franchise.

Smith won three Emmys for her portrayal of as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey.

The actress became a firm fan favourite for her acerbic put-downs during the five-year series and two subsequent films.

Away from the screen, Smith married actor Robert Stephens in June 1967.

The couple shared two sons, actors Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, before they divorced eight years later,

Smith later went on to wed playwright Beverley Cross in 1975 before his death in 1998.

She previously opened up about her health battles, including treatment for Graves’ disease in 1988.

In 2007, it emerged Smith had been diagnosed with breast cancer but she went on to make a full recovery.

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, Smith 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 Bartholomew, who also taught Miriam Margolyes, and who encouraged me.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Maggie Smith dead: Harry Potter & Downton Abbey star dies aged 89