Celebrities Pay Tribute To The Late Maggie Smith

Dame Maggie Smith, who’s known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died at age of 89. The actor died “peacefully” at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, according to her two sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, who confirmed her death in a statement. Her cause of death is currently unknown.

“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end,” they said, according to Sky News. “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. ... We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Smith was an eight-time BAFTA winner and two-time Oscar winner, having won Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and Best Supporting Actress for California Suite in 1979.

However, it was her role as Harry Potter’s Minerva McGonagall that endeared her to a younger generation of moviegoers. She was reportedly the only actor that author J.K. Rowling specifically asked for while casting the films. Smith’s death comes one year after the death of co-star Sir Michael Gambon, who played Albus Dumbledore in the series.

More recently, Smith won three Emmy Awards for playing Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, which gave her a new level of popularity. She told Graham Norton in 2015 that “people seem to recognize me” more after the TV series became a hit.

Friends & Colleagues Pay Respect

After Smith’s death was announced, tributes started rolling in from celebrities and peers, such as Downton Abbey co-star Hugh Bonneville, who played her son in the series.

“Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent,” he said in a statement to BBC. “She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances.”

Whoopi Goldberg honored Smith in an Instagram post, sharing a photo from their film Sister Act. “Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress,” she wrote. “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.”

Daniel Radcliffe paid an emotional tribute to Smith in a statement to Variety, recalling when he met her at age nine on his first-ever film, David Copperfield. “The first thing I asked her when we met was ‘Would you like me to call you Dame?’ at which she laughed and said something to the effect of ‘don’t be ridiculous!’” recalled Radcliffe, who’d go on to star in Harry Potter.

“She was a fierce intellect, a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny,” he continued. “The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.”

Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series, paid a subtle tribute by changing his Instagram profile photo to one of Smith kissing his cheek at a Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince premiere in 2009.

Bonnie Wright, who portrayed Ron’s sister Ginny, remembered Smith as “our dearly loved and revered head of Gryffindor house” in an Instagram post. “My favourite scene with Maggie was when we were all learning to dance for the Yule Ball,” she wrote. “She embodied that perfect balance of sass and loving care that McGonagall has. She kept Gryffindors on their toes.”