R.I.P. Maggie Smith: ‘Harry Potter’ And ‘Downton Abbey’ Star Dead At 89

Academy Award-winning actress Dame Maggie Smith , best known for her roles in the Harry Potter franchise and Downton Abbey , has passed away. She was 89.

Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, confirmed her passing in a statement with the BBC .

“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,” they said.

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They added, “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,” their statement noted. “We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

The cause of death has not been confirmed.

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Smith’s indelible career spanned decades after she got her start acting as a teenager. One of her most notable roles occurred rather early in her career, the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie , for which she won her first Academy Award. Her career spanned genres with roles in The First Wives Club , All The King’s Men , Death on the Nile , Othello , and more. She also starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1992 comedy Sister Act .

Smith later eared another Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in California Suite in 1979. She was also nominated for her roles in Othello, Travels With My Aunt , Gosford Park and A Room With A View .

Queen Elizabeth II made Smith a “dame” in 1990 for her accomplished career in drama.

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But, for many, she is best known for playing Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter and Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey .

Her Downton role earned her three Emmy Awards. But Smith candidly admitted in a 2019 interview that theater remains her “favorite medium,” as her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey were not exactly “satisfying” to play.

“I am deeply grateful for the work in Potter and indeed Downton but it wasn’t what you’d call satisfying. I didn’t really feel I was acting in those things,” she told The Standard . “I wanted to get back to the stage so much because theatre is basically my favorite medium, and I think I felt as though I’d left it all unfinished. But there wasn’t anything that came along.”

Smith’s final credited acting role is in the 2023 comedy The Miracle Club , in which she starred alongside Laura Linney and Kathy Bates .

She reportedly has one final upcoming project that was in production at the time of her death. Smith was set to reprise her acclaimed role in one-woman play A German Life from Christopher Hampton for a film adaptation, according to Variety .

Smith is survived by her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, and her grandchildren.

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