During her career, actor Dame Maggie Smith shone in roles as varied as a maverick schoolteacher, a witch in the Harry Potter film series, and Downton Abbey’s Dowager Countess of Grantham, a part which won her three Emmys. The theatre, film and TV star, who has died aged 89, was one of the few performers to achieve the so-called triple crown of acting, winning two Oscars, four Emmys and one Tony. Advertisement Here is a round-up of her most famous roles.
Maggie Smith won two Oscars during her career (Matt Crossick/PA) – Professor Minerva McGonagall Advertisement From 2001 to 2011, Smith played Hogwarts’ Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series, who was the head of the house of Gryffindor. She was also the school’s deputy headmistress under Professor Albus Dumbledore, played by Richard Harris and, after his death, by Michael Gambon. Sir Michael died a year ago to the day.
Advertisement The role saw her reunite with Daniel Radcliffe having previously starred alongside him in 1999’s David Copperfield. Despite the quick-witted, kind and formidable professor of transfiguration becoming a prominent character in the series, Smith had regularly said she did not find her role in the films fully satisfying, but said they had allowed her to bond with her grandchildren. – Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham Advertisement From 2010 to 2015, Smith played the quick-witted matriarch Violet Crowley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, becoming central to the .