Legendary British actress Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, has died at the age of 88, her family has announced.
Tributes poured in after Oscar-winning British actor Maggie Smith, a star of stage and screen for more than 70 years, died Friday in a London hospital, her sons announced.
“It is with great sadness that we must announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning,” Chris Larkin and Toby Stevens said in a statement. Ta.
Winner of one Tony Award, two Oscars, three Golden Globes and five BAFTAs, Smith rose to international fame in her later years for playing Violet Crawley, the acerbic Countess of Grantham in the hit TV series. gained. downton abbey.
In a statement, the BAFTA Television and Film Academy said it was “saddened” to hear of her death and called her “a legend of British stage and screen.”
Maggie Smith is a “true national treasure” – Starmer
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said her highly regarded career had made her a “true national treasure” and awarded her a special award and scholarship.
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Smith was born in Oxford, central England, in 1934, the daughter of an Oxford professor of pathology, and made her stage debut with the Oxford University Dramatic Society in 1952.
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress Miss Jean Brody's heyday In 1969, she won the Best Supporting Actress Award for her role as Desdemona. Othello In the same year.
“She was a very private person, but in the end she was with her friends and family,” said her sons, both of whom are actors.
“She leaves behind two sons and five beloved grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of a special mother and grandmother,” she said, adding that she has thanked all the “kind messages and support” she has received. I expressed my gratitude.
“Terrible talent”
Renowned for his scene-stealing charisma, Smith's long and successful career began with a string of successes in London's West End and Broadway in the 1950s.
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She is best known for appearing opposite Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare adaptations. Othello In 1959.
This led her to join Olivier's famous 1960s National Theater Company, where she and her husband, actor Robert Stevens, achieved critical acclaim.
Smith had two sons with Stevens, a heavy drinker, but their marriage broke up in 1973 and they divorced two years later.
She soon remarried screenwriter Beverly Cross, who died in 1998.
Some of her most famous films in recent decades include: Gosford Park (2001), Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) and woman in the van (2015).
work on downton abbey and harry potter The movie introduced her to the younger generation.
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Her very popular works downton abbey and harry potter Movies also introduced her to the younger generation.
There was such a charm. downton abbey She said in 2017 that she could no longer go out without being recognized.
“It's ridiculous. I had a perfectly normal life until Downton Abbey,” she told the British Film Institute.
“I used to go to the theater by myself, go to galleries and things like that. And now I can't do that,” she said.
Actor Hugh Bonneville, who played the Duchess' son in the period drama, said: “Anyone who has worked with Maggie will attest to her keen eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.
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“She was a true legend of her generation and will, thankfully, live on in many great screen performances. My condolences to her sons and wider family.”
Smith was made a member of the British Empire in 1990 by Queen Elizabeth II.
– Posted by: © Agence France-Presse
