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Maggie Smith, who won an Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969 and won new fans in the 21st century as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, has died, her publicist said Friday. She was 89.
Best-known for roles in Downton Abbey, Harry Potter, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Associated Press
· Posted: Sep 27, 2024 9:33 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
British actor Dame Maggie Smith poses in London in this Dec. 16, 2015, photo. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/The Associated Press)
Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969 and gained new fans in the 21st century as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Friday. She was 89.
Smith’s sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, said in a statement that Smith died early Friday in a London hospital.
“She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” they said in a statement issued through publicist Clair Dobbs.
In this image released by PBS, Maggie Smith, as the Dowager Countess Grantham, is shown in a scene from the second season of Downton Abbey. (The Associated Press)
Smith was frequently rated the pre-eminent British actress of a generation that included Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench.
Jean Brodie brought her the Academy Award for best actress and the British Academy (BAFTA) award in 1969. Smith added a supporting actress Oscar for California Suite in 1978.
More to come.
