Getty ImagesTributes have been paid to the actress Dame Maggie Smith who has died at the age of 89.
Smith’s sons, actors Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, confirmed the Oscar-winning actress died in hospital on Friday.
Beginning her career in 1952, Smith had an extensive career on both stage and screen which spanned seven decades.
However some of her best known work came later in her career, when she starred as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series.
Her role as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey also became one of her best known performances, for which she earned three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Other film roles include her portrayal of a drunken Oscar loser in California Suite, the dying older lover in Love, Pain And The Whole Damn Thing, the tragic lodger in The Lonely Passion Of Judith Hearne, and the so-called “funny old bat” in Gosford Park, which brought her a sixth Oscar nomination.
Her first Oscar nod came in 1965 for her role at Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier’s Othello.
She went on to win two Oscars during her career for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970, and California Suite in 1979.
She had four other nominations, and also received eight Bafta awards for roles including A Room with a View and Tea with Mussolini.
Getty ImagesPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to pay tribute to the actress, saying: “Dame Maggie Smith introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career.
“She was beloved by so many for her great talent, becoming a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come.”
He continued: “Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace.”
The National Theatre, where Dame Maggie worked in its first season in 1963, said it was “devastated by the news”.
It wrote: “We’re devastated to hear of the death of Dame Maggie Smith, whose career has spanned the theatrical, film and television world without equal.
“Her relationship with the National Theatre began in its very first season in 1963, working alongside Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic.”
Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville who played Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, the son of Dame Maggie’s character Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, praised his late co-star’s “sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent”.
Bonneville said: “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.
“She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances.
“My condolences to her boys and wider family.”
Whoopi Goldberg, who acted alongside Dame Maggie Smith in Sister Act in 1992, paid tribute to the “one-of-a-kind” actress on Instagram.
Alongside a picture of the two in the film, Goldberg wrote: “Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind’. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family…RIP.”
Downton Abbey actor Dan Stevens said Dame Maggie was “truly one of the greats” on Instagram.
TV presenter Gyles Brandreth described her as “wise, witty, waspish, wonderful”.
In a post on X, Bafta said she was a “legend of British stage and screen”.
Actor Rob Lowe, who worked with the actress on Suddenly Last Summer in 1993, also took to X to pay his respects.
He wrote: “Saddened to hear Dame Maggie Smith has passed. I had the unforgettable experience of working with her; sharing a two-shot was like being paired with a lion.
“She could eat anyone alive, and often did. But funny, and great company. And suffered no fools. We will never see another. God speed, Ms. Smith!”
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