Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie┬аin 1969 and gained new fans in the 21st century as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey┬аand 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.
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┬аin 1978.
More to come.
