"Fallen asleep"

Acting legend Maggie Smith is dead

Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall(Bild: Jaap Buitendijk / Everett Collection)

British actress Dame Maggie Smith has died at the age of 89. The two-time Oscar winner was considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation and enchanted audiences for decades with her impressive presence on stage and screen.

Maggie Smith died in hospital on Friday morning, her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens announced. The British actress received numerous awards in her 70-year career, including two Oscars, three Golden Globes, four Emmys and a Tony Award.

Maggie Smith became known to a worldwide audience through roles in films such as "Harry Potter", where she played Professor McGonagall, and "Gosford Park", but her long-standing stage career and her celebrated appearance in the series "Downton Abbey" also made her an unforgettable icon of British theater and cinema.

Maggie Smith in her role as Professor McGonagall(Bild: www.VIENNAREPORT.at)

Already on stage at the age of 17
Smith was born on December 28, 1934 in Ilford near London, and at the age of 17 she was already on stage as Viola in Shakespeare's "What You Will" at the Oxford Playhouse. In 1963, she supported Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the movie drama "Hotel International".

Just two years later, she was nominated for an Oscar when she played Desdemona alongside Laurence Olivier's Othello. Her best film is considered to be "The Best Years of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969), for which she received an Oscar at the age of 35. Her second Oscar came in 1979, for her supporting role in the drama "The Crazy California Hotel". At the same time, she shone on London's West End and New York's Broadway.

Maggie Smith in 1979 with her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the film "California Suite".(Bild: AP)

With her subtle humor and incomparable talent, she leaves a gap in the world of acting. Her fans and colleagues will remember her as a true grande dame of British film and theater.