RIP Professor McGonagall: 'Harry Potter' actor Maggie Smith dies at 89

Maggie Smith the masterful scenestealing actor who won an Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 1969 and wowed new generation of cinegoers in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey 201015 and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise died yesterday She was 89Her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said in a statement that Smith died early Friday in a London hospital Besides two sons she also left behind five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary grandmother according to the statement issued through publicist Clair DobbsSmith was frequently rated the preeminent British female performer of a generation that included Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench with a clutch of Academy Award nominations and a shelf full of acting trophies She remained in demand even in her later years despite her lament that ldquowhen you get into the granny era yoursquore lucky to get anythingrdquoSmith drily summarised her later roles as ldquoa gallery of grotesquesrdquo including Professor McGonagall Asked why she took the role she had replied ldquoHarry Potter is my pensionrdquoRichard Eyre who directed Smith in a television production of Suddenly Last Summer 1992 said she was ldquointellectually the smartest actress Irsquove ever worked with You have to get up very early in the morning to outwit Maggie SmithrdquoHer portrayal of a dangerously charismatic Edinburgh schoolteacher in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 1969won her the Academy Award for best actress and the British Academy Film Award BAFTA as wellSmith added a supporting actress Oscar for California Suite 1978 Golden Globes for California Suite and A Room with a View 1986 and BAFTAs for lead actress in A Private Function 1984 A Room with a View and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne 1988 On stage she won the Tony Award for best actress for Lettice and Lovage 1990Smith had a reputation for being difficult and sometimes upstaging others Richard Burton remarked that Smith didnrsquot just take over a scene in The VIPs 1963 with him ldquoShe commits grand larcenyrdquo he had said However director Peter Hall found that Smith wasnrsquot ldquoremotely difficult unless shersquos among idiots Shersquos very hard on herself and I donrsquot think she sees any reason why she shouldnrsquot be hard on other people toordquoSmith conceded that she could be impatient at times ldquoItrsquos true I donrsquot tolerate fools but then they donrsquot tolerate me so I am spiky Maybe thatrsquos why Irsquom quite good at playing spiky elderly ladiesrdquo she had saidSmith was last seen in The Miracle Club 2023 an Irish drama in which she played the role of Lily FoxBorn Margaret Natalie Smith in Ilford on December 28 1934 she once summed up her life saying ldquoOne went to school one wanted to act one started to act onersquos still actingrdquoShe took Maggie as her stage name because another Margaret Smith was active in the theatre Laurence Olivier spotted her talent invited her to be part of his original National Theatre company and cast her as his costar in a 1965 film adaptation of OthelloSmith said two directors Ingmar Bergman and William Gaskill both in National Theatre productions were important influencesHowever extravagant she may have been on stage or before the cameras Smith was known to be intensely privateShe married fellow actor Robert Stephens in 1967 They had two sons Christopher and Toby and divorced in 1975 The same year she married the writer Beverley Cross who died in 1998In 1990 Smith was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire the equivalent of a knightThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever