Screen and stage legend Maggie Smith dead at 89

Dame Maggie Smith died peacefully in a hospital Friday morning surrounded by family and friends, according to a statement from her family. Smith gained widespread popularity portraying Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the period TV show Downton Abbey. Younger audiences also know her as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film franchise. Her other popular roles include Mother Superior in Whoopi Goldberg’s Sister Act and Helena Bonham Carter’s overbearing cousin Charlotte Bartlett in the 1985 adaptation of A Room with a View.

Smith’s decades-long career on screen and on stage began in the 1950s, performing at the Oxford Playhouse in England and on Broadway in New York. She received her first Oscar in 1970 for her performance in the British drama The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and her second in 1979 for her performance in the American comedy California Suite. Along with her two Academy Awards, she earned seven BAFTAs, four Emmys, Three Golden Globes, and a Tony Award by the end of her career. Smith became one of about two dozen performers to earn an Academy Award, an Emmy, and a Tony all in acting categories, an achievement known as the Triple Crown of Acting. Smith seldom spoke on religion but shared tepid beliefs in a higher power. There is something out there, and like most people that belief grows when things go bad, she said during a 2012 interview for Vulture. She is survived by her two sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, and five grandchildren.