Dame Maggie Smith's flair for both comedy and tragedy made her one of Britain's most formidable actors, said The Hollywood Reporter . She won the first of six Oscar nominations in 1965, starring opposite Laurence Olivier in "Othello", before scooping the prize four years later for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie". By 1990, her talent had seen her become a Dame, "but in many ways," said CNN , "her best roles were yet to come".
She went on to win the hearts of young fans playing the "strict but fair" Professor McGonagall in " Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" , a role she reprised in all but one of the films, before taking on what The Guardian called "arguably her most impactful TV role" as the Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey" . Her performance in the period drama was often highlighted as one of the show's defining strengths. She "wafts about magnificently", said Sam Wollaston in The Guardian , "stealing a scene with just a line or a haughty look".
The Telegraph said her characterisation was "imperiousness personified". "Downton" netted Smith three Emmys and international attention, but she was intensely private and avoided award ceremonies when she could. "I truly think if I went to Los Angeles, for example, I think I'd frighten people," she said in 2017.
"They don't see older people.” 'A face like that' Born in Ilford in 1934, Smith wanted to be an actor from childhood, but claimed her mother had said she wouldn't succeed with "a face like that". Not only did .