DOWNTON ABBEY Star Maggie Smith Dies

Published: September 27, 2024

DOWNTON ABBEY Star Maggie Smith Dies

By Movieguide® Staff

British actress Maggie Smith, known for her role in DOWNTON ABBEY, died on Friday in London. She was 89.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in a statement, per Variety. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September.”

“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days,” their statement concluded.

Born on Dec. 28, 1934, Smith’s storied career began in Oxford where she studied theater at the Oxford Playhouse School and began taking part in university stage productions by 1952.

She co-starred with Laurence Olivier in his film adaptation of OTHELLO in 1965 and went on to win an Oscar for THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE in 1969.

“Smith added a supporting actress Oscar for CALIFORNIA SUITE in 1978, Golden Globes for CALIFORNIA SUITE and ROOM WITH A VIEW, and BAFTAs for lead actress in “A PRIVATE FUNCTION in 1984, A ROOM WITH A VIEW in 1986, and THE LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE in 1988,” AP reported.

Her role as Violet Crawley in DOWNTON ABBEY earned her three Best Supporting Actress Emmys.

“When you get into the granny era, you’re lucky to get anything,” she said of her roles later in life.

For her dramatic accomplishments, “Smith was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire, the equivalent of a knight, in 1990,” ABC News said.

“She 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 1998,” AP reported.

Keep Smith’s family and friends in your prayers as they mourn her death.