Dame Maggie Smith dies - latest: King pays heartfelt tribute to 'national treasure'; co-star says actress was 'very cross about being old' (2024)

That's all our coverage of the tributes for Dame Maggie Smith for now.

The 89-year-old actress, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, died in hospital earlier today.

In a statement, her sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, said she was with "friends and family at the end".

"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," they added.

The King described Dame Maggie as a "national treasure", saying he was "deeply saddened" by her death.

You can scroll down below to read all the latest tributes from stars such as Whoopi Goldberg, Hugh Bonneville and Dan Stevens.

During her long and successful career, Dame Maggie Smith played a number of roles.

From a witch in the Harry Potter film series to Downton Abbey's Dowager Countess of Grantham, the 89-year-old won several awards for her performances.

Here's a round-up of her most famous characters.

Professor Minerva McGonagall

From 2001 to 2011, she played Hogwarts' Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series, who was the head of the house of Gryffindor.

She was also the school's deputy headmistress under Professor Albus Dumbledore, played by Richard Harris and, after his death, by Michael Gambon. Gambon died a year to the day before Dame Maggie.

The role saw her reunite with Daniel Radcliffe having previously starred alongside him in 1999's David Copperfield.

Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham

From 2010 to 2015, she played the quick-witted matriarch Violet Crowley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, becoming central to the success of the ITV series.

The role won her three Emmy awards and she continued to play the character in spin-off films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).

Jean Brodie

Dame Maggie won her first Oscar for best actress in 1969's The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

The film saw her play the unrestrained teacher at an all-girls school in Edinburgh during the 1930s.

In the film, the teacher devotes her energy and attention to girls she sees as special or mouldable, eventually seeing her lead them into disastrous situations.

Diana Barrie

The actor won her second Oscar for best supporting actress in 1978's California Suite, where she played actor Diana Barrie.

In the film, her character is a first-time nominee for the Academy Award for best actress in an independent British film, but she knows she has no chance of winning.

Throughout the movie, Diana is in denial about the nature of her marriage of convenience to Sidney Cochran, a gay antiques dealer who becomes increasingly open about his sexuality.

Mary Shepherd

In 2015, Dame Maggie played the role of Mary Shepherd in The Lady In The Van.

The film told a mostly true story about Shepherd, who was an elderly woman who lived in a dilapidated van on a driveway in north London for 15 years.

The film was based on a memoir by the playwright Alan Bennett, whose driveway Shepherd lived on from the 1970s to the 1980s.

Truly, Madly, Deeply actress Juliet Stevenson has told Times Radio that Dame Maggie Smith was "a goddess".

"For me, I think that there was literally nothing that she couldn't do," she said.

"If you look at the body of her work over 70 years, she started in theatre, she did a long period with Laurence Olivier at his first National Theatre, playing Shakespeare."

She praised her versatility as an actress, saying it was "unrivalled" and her long career.

"For me, she's the greatest, really," she added.

By Samuel Osborne, news reporter

Dame Maggie Smith was a highly versatile actress whose repertoire ranged from Shakespeare to Harry Potter and Downton Abbey.

She won her first Oscar for The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969 and went on to garner several Golden Globes and BAFTAs throughout her long career.

Dame Maggie, who has died at the age of 89, was part of a generation of female performers that included Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave.

Born Margaret Natalie Smith in Ilford, east London, on 28 December 1934, she once offered a brief summary of her life: "One went to school, one wanted to act, one started to act, one's still acting."

Read in full here:

The King has paid tribute to Dame Maggie as "a national treasure".

"My wife and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dame Maggie Smith," a statement on the Royal Family Instagram account said.

"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."

He signed the message: "Charles R."

The National Theatre's director and co-chief executive Rufus Norris has celebrated Dame Maggie as "one of the greatest actors this country has had the inestimable pleasure of witnessing".

Dame Maggie first tread the boards at the National Theatre boards in its debut season in 1963.

She later went on to work with Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic.

In a statement to the PA news agency, Mr Norris said: "She will forever be remembered as one of the greatest actors this country has had the inestimable pleasure of witnessing.

"Her deep intelligence, effortless dexterity, sublime craft and sharp wit were simply legendary.

"The National Theatre is reeling today and we send our deepest condolences to Maggie's family and her legions of admirers across the world and in every generation."

Dame Maggie "saw through the nonsense and razzmatazz" of acting and "had a sense of humour and wit that could reduce me to a blithering puddle of giggles",Kristin Scott Thomas has said.

The pair starred together in the 2014 drama My Old Lady.

Thomas wrote on Instagram: "So very, very sad to know she has gone. She was a true inspiration. She took acting very seriously but saw through the nonsense and razzmatazz.

"She really didn't want to deal with that. She had a sense of humour and wit that could reduce me to a blithering puddle of giggles. And she did not have patience with fools."

Thomas added you "had to be a bit careful", but she "absolutely adored her", and called her comedic timing "perfection" and vulnerable roles "heartbreaking".

"The last time I saw her she was very cross about being old. 'Maddening', I think she said,'" she added.

Downton Abbey has paid tribute to Dame Maggie as a "true British icon".

The actress played Violet Crowley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, on the series from 2010 to 2015, for which she won three Emmy awards.

She went on to play the character in spin-off filmsDownton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).

Whoopi Goldberg has said she feels "lucky" to have worked alongside Dame Maggie Smith.

The actors starred together in Sister Act, where Dame Maggie played Reverend Mother Superior and Goldberg portrayed Deloris Van Cartier.

The American actress shared a picture on her Instagram of the two on the set of Sister Act dressed as nuns.

Paying tribute, she 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."

The actor Julian Fellowes has shared his memories of Dame Maggie as "very kind, very professional, very funny - both in her acting and off the screen".

The Downton Abbey creator, who first worked with the actress on Gosford Park (2001) told Sky News she had a "marvellous, instinctive grasp" of the emotions she wanted to portray.

"Her great gift as an actress was that she could make you cry your eyes out one minute and then laugh like a drain the next without turning into someone different," Baron Fellowes said.

He quickly realised he was "working with a great genius," he added.