Actress Maggie Smith, winner of two Oscars and known for ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Harry Potter’, dies at 89 | Culture

Actress Maggie Smith has died at the age of 89, according to her family in a statement. “He died peacefully in hospital early this morning on Friday, September 27,” his sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin reported. “He was a very reserved person who was accompanied by his friends and family until the last moment. “He leaves behind two children and five beloved grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.” The interpreter of titles like harry potter and Dowton Abbeya great drama of the British screen and theater, was admitted to a London hospital. “We thank you for your messages and ask for respect for our privacy at this time.”

Winner of two Oscars – for her performance in Miss Brodie’s best yearsas the protagonist in 1970, and in California Suitefor her supporting role in 1979―, was nominated four times for the Hollywood Academy Awards, including Othello (Stuart Burge, 1965), Trips with my aunt (George Cukor, 1972), A room with a view (James Ivory, 1985) and Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001). He also won a Tony, five Baftas awards for British cinema, three Golden Globes, and four Emmys for his work on television. Queen Elizabeth II invested her as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 2014, granted her an even higher appointment, including her in the Order of the Companions of Honour.

“My career is irregular,” the actress told The Guardian in 2004, before triumphing with the saga of the boy wizard. Downton Abbeywhich recovered it for the large global public: “I think they pigeonholed me into humor… If you do comedy, in a way you don’t count. Comedy is never considered real.” Smith enjoyed a triumph in the last years of her career, which culminated first with the two films about the series in which she played the now iconic Lady Graham and in 2015 with The Lady in the VanAlan Bennett’s memoirs about the woman who lived at the entrance to his house and who he performed on stage in 1999.

In the eight films of harry potterSmith played Professor Minerva McGonagall, wearing high-necked Victorian-style dresses, a distinctive Scottish brooch, and her hair tied up under a tall black witch’s hat, she had a striking screen presence. Smith did not find herself constantly persecuted in public, except by children: “A lot of very small people used to say hello to me and that was nice,” she recalled on the Graham Norton show in 2015. One boy asked her carefully: “Were you really a cat?”, referring to the transformations of the powerful Hogwarts wizard.

Smith was married twice: to fellow actor Robert Stephens between 1967 and 1975, and to Beverley Cross between 1975 and her death in 1998.