Legendary British actress, Maggie Smith is dead

Oscar-winning British actress Maggie Smith, who graced stage and screen for over seven decades, has passed away.

The esteemed star died in a London hospital on Friday, as confirmed by her sons. Smith’s remarkable career leaves behind a lasting legacy in film and theater.

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

Smith, a legend of British film and theatre who won a Tony, two Oscars, three Golden Globes and five Baftas, achieved late-career international fame for her depiction of the Dowager Countess of Grantham Violet Crawley in the hit television series “Downton Abbey”.

Born on December 28, 1934, Maggie Smith was the daughter of an Oxford professor of pathology.

She made her stage debut in 1952 with the Oxford University Dramatic Society, marking the beginning of a stellar career.

Smith won her first Oscar for Best Actress in 1969 for her performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and also took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal of Desdemona in Othello that same year, cementing her status as one of the finest talents in film and theater history.

“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end,” her sons said.

“She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” they said, adding their thanks for all the “kind messages and support” they had received.