"Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress" Whoopi Goldberg has paid tribute to her “one of a kind” Sister Act co-star Maggie Smith in a new post on social media. The passing of the iconic actor, aged 89, was confirmed last Friday (September 27) by her sons , Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens. In a statement they said that Smith “passed away peacefully” in the early hours of that morning.

“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end,” they shared in a statement last week. “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,” they added. Goldberg starred with Smith in Sister Act in 1992. Smith played the Reverend Mother Superior in the comedy while Goldberg appeared as a singer who goes into witness protection in a convent.

Sharing a tribute on Instagram, Goldberg wrote: “Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind’. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family.

.. RIP.

” See the post here: A post shared by WhoopiGoldberg (@whoopigoldberg) Dame Maggie Smith made her stage debut in 19.