Maggie Smith, the two-time Oscar-winning actor best known for playing the stern Professor McGonagall in the "Harry Potter" movie franchise and the tart-tongued Dowager Countess on "Downton Abbey," died Friday, her publicist and children confirmed.
She was 89.
Smith's sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, paid tribute to their mother in a joint statement. "It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning," they wrote.
Maggie Smith in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
"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," Larkin and Stephens wrote. They did not immediately specify a cause of death.
In a career spanning nearly seven decades, Smith established herself as one of the most towering and beloved British actors of her generation, revered for her witty line deliveries and self-possession.
She was frequently honored by her peers. She won Academy Awards for her performances in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969) and "California Suite" (1978). She earned four Emmy Awards, including three for her role as Violet Crawley on "Downton."
