Maggie Smith Dead: Beloved ‘Downton Abbey’ Actress Dies at 89, Family Announces in Statement

Dame Maggie Smith, best known for portraying Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise, has died. She was 89 years old. 

“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 to BBC on Friday, September 27.

“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,” the statement said. “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.

“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time,” the statement concluded.

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Maggie was a beloved film actress and stage performer who had a rich career in both the British and American entertainment industries, having starred in several critically acclaimed works since her first credited role in 1955. While fan favorites including the Harry Potter franchise, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Downton Abbey made her a household name across multiple generations, Maggie’s most treasured performances came in the 1970 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and the 1979 work California Suite, for which she took home the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, respectively. In total, the admired Downton Abbey star won two Academy awards, four Primetime Emmy awards, seven BAFTA awards, three Golden Globe awards and many more honors.  

Though her critical acclaim is undeniable, Maggie opened up to NPR in 2016 about the pressures she felt while on the job, telling Fresh Air host Dave Davies that despite her impressive career she still felt “very insecure” as a performer.  

“I always feel huge pressure. It’s an odd feeling, but when you’re there and you’re having to do it, the choice you make has to be absolutely right. And of course, it can’t be. It just absolutely can’t be. So you don’t really have a say in it,” the Sister Act star said. “I find it very hard because I don’t know that I trust myself to know that – if it’s good or if that’s the take that should be or whether we just do it with one take or there isn’t time to do anymore … There’s always pressure because there isn’t enough time. There’s never enough time for a movie, it seems to me. Never.”  

Maggie worked well into her retirement years, starring in the highly anticipated Downton Abbey film, Downton Abbey: A New Era, in 2022. Her last onscreen performance was The Miracle Club, released in 2023. While dedicating herself to her career, the Quartet actress quietly battled several health conditions throughout her life, including a breast cancer diagnosis in 2007. Undergoing rigorous treatment while keeping up with the demanding filming schedule of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the esteemed performer told The Times that even two years after receiving the all clear from doctors, she was hesitant to get back out on stage.  

“I was hairless. I had no problem getting the wig on. I was like a boiled egg,” she told The Times, revealing that chemotherapy left her feeling “horribly sick.” “I was holding on to railings, thinking ‘I can’t do this’.”

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But not only did she deliver scene after scene in all eight Harry Potter films, but Maggie kept working almost up until the day of her passing.  

Fans and fellow actors quickly took to social media to express their condolences and share their admiration for the late star.

Dame Maggie Smith is survived by her two children, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, both of whom are actors. The actress and her first husband, Robert Stephens, divorced in 1975 and her second husband, Beverley Cross, died in 1998.