Dame Maggie Smith became a British acting legend throughout her career appearing in everything from Harry Potter and Downton Abbey to Nanny McPhee and Sister Act.

Dame Maggie died in hospital aged 89, her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens revealed on Friday (September 27).

In a statement issued via their publicist, they said: “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.

“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.

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

Maggie Smith movies and TV shows

Following her death, we take a look back at the films and TV shows that Dame Maggie appeared in throughout her career.

Movies

Dame Maggie appeared in various films throughout her career including:

  • All the Harry Potter movies (Professor Minerva McGonagall)
  • Downton Abbey: A New Era (Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham)
  • Gnomeo & Juliet 1 and 2 (Lady Blueberry)
  • The Lady in the Van (Miss Shephard)
  • The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Muriel Donnelly)
  • Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Mrs Docherty)

  • Becoming Jane (Lady Gresham)
  • Keeping Mum (Grace Hawkins)
  • The First Wives Club (Gunilla Garson Goldberg)
  • Sister Act 1 and 2 (Mother Superior)
  • The Secret Garden (Mrs Medlock)
  • Hook (Granny Wendy)
  • Death on the Nile (Miss Bowers)
  • Evil Under the Sun (Daphne Castle)
  • Murder by Death (Dora Charleston)
  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Jean Brodie)

You can see a full list of all the movies and TV shows Dame Maggie appeared in on the IMDb website.

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TV shows

Arguably Dame Maggie's biggest TV role was Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey.

She also appeared in the TV series David Copperfield as Betsy Trotwood, as well as several TV movies including My House of Umbria and All the King's Men, according to IMDb.