Yesterday morning, nearly the entire world entered a collective period of mourning, as we bade goodbye to one of the most recognisable stars of stage and screen, Dame Maggie Smith. The veteran actress, with notable credits in some of the most recognisable titles around, passed away at the age of 89 in London. Tributes were swift and plentiful, with Downton Abbey co-star Hugh Bonneville saying: “She was a true legend of her generation” and being described by Miriam Margolyes calling Smith “the best of the best”.
The late Dame Maggie Smith also received a tribute from the King, releasing a statement in the hours after the actress’ death: “As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances and her warmth and wit that shone through both on and off the stage”. As tributes keep pouring in for the legendary performer, we took a look back on her illustrious career and the talented person we now mourn the passing of.
Born in Ilford in Essex, Smith’s first notable credit came from her role as Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, from the Oxford University Dramatic Society. She continued her career in a range of productions around the university city, including Cinderella and The Government Inspector. Her Broadway debut came in 1956, aged 21, in New Faces of ’56. She was noticed by legendary playwright Laurence Olivier, who invited her to join his then-fledgeling National Theatre Company, alongside other theatrical greats such as Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon.
Smith also starred in a range of notable productions, including in Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, winning her an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress, and several productions in Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival, such as Anthony and Cleopatra, Richard III and Macbeth. In 1990, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, for her Broadway reprisal of Margaret Tyzack in Lettice & Lovage. She returned to her roots in the National Theatre in 2013 for the 50th anniversary production, alongside other notable alumni including Michael Gambon and Judi Dench. A significant absence in her stage career ended in 2019 with A German Life at London’s Bridge Theatre, where Smith played Brunhilde Pomsel, a performance of which in the one-woman show garnered her a record sixth Evening Standard Best Actress Award.
As well as her performance accolades, Smith was made a Dame in the 1990 New Year honours for services to the performing arts, following this with her elevation to Member of the Order of Companions of Honour, presented by the late Queen Elizabeth II in her 2014 Birthday Honours. Over her career, the late actress performed alongside the greatest in theatre and film history, from Laurence Olivier and Derek Jacobi, to Robin Williams, Hugh Bonneville, Judi Dench, Alan Rickman and many more.
Dame Maggie Smith is, and always will be, simply one of the most remarkable actresses the United Kingdom has ever produced, with a list of accolades as long as your arm, and a list of credits to rival near-all performers in history. Her loss has sent shockwaves through the stage and screen industries, with co-stars, politicians and royalty all sharing their sadness and memories of the remarkable actress. As people around the country reel from the news of her passing, we know the world will be that much dimmer without her shining light and talent, and many fans will be devastated at the loss of the veteran actress, and her dedication to entertaining us all.
“I tend to head for what’s amusing because a lot of things aren’t happy. But usually you can find a funny side to practically anything”
Dame Maggie Smith (1934 – 2024)
