- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMargaret Natalie Smith
- Height5′ 5¼″ (1.66 m)
- One of the world's most famous and distinguished actresses, Dame Maggie Smith was born Margaret Natalie Smith in Essex. Her Scottish mother, Margaret (Hutton), worked as a secretary, and her English father, Nathaniel Smith, was a teacher at Oxford University. Smith has been married twice: to actor Robert Stephens and to playwright Beverley Cross. Her marriage to Stephens ended in divorce in 1974. She was married to Cross until his death in 1998. She had two sons with Stephens, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens who are also actors.
Maggie Smith's career began at the Oxford Playhouse in the 1950s. She made her film debut in 1956 as one of the party guests in Child in the House (1956). She has since performed in over sixty films and television series with some of the most prominent actors and actresses in the world. These include: Othello (1965) with Laurence Olivier, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), California Suite (1978) with Michael Caine and Jane Fonda, A Room with a View (1985), Richard III (1995) with Ian McKellen and Jim Broadbent, Franco Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini (1999) with Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Cher and Gosford Park (2001) with Kristin Scott Thomas and Clive Owen, directed by Robert Altman. Maggie Smith has also been nominated for an Oscar six times and won twice, for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and California Suite (1978).
Smith later appeared in the very successful 'Harry Potter' franchise as the formidable Professor McGonagall as well as in Julian Fellowes' ITV drama series, Downton Abbey (2010) (2010-2011) as the Dowager Countess of Grantham.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- SpousesBeverley Cross(June 23, 1975 - March 20, 1998) (his death)Robert Stephens(June 29, 1967 - April 6, 1975) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsMargaret HuttonNathaniel Smith
- RelativesIan Smith(Sibling)Alastair Smith(Sibling)
- Has often played grumpy, acid-witted ladies in the second half of her career.
- Her cheekbones.
- In 2008, it was reported that she was fighting breast cancer. She has had a tumor removed and undergone chemotherapy.
- The fight scene between her and Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) was almost scrapped during the script process of the film. Her character was to be written out of the scene and replaced by another character. However, author J.K. Rowling insisted that the fight should involve the same characters as those in the novel, as she saw it as a key moment for Smith's character. The scene was filmed when Smith was 76 years old.
- Is one of 17 actresses to have won the Triple Crown of Acting (an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony); the others in chronological order are: Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, Shirley Booth, Liza Minnelli, Rita Moreno, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Audrey Hepburn, Anne Bancroft, Vanessa Redgrave, Ellen Burstyn, Helen Mirren, Frances McDormand, Jessica Lange, Viola Davis and Glenda Jackson.
- While filming Death on the Nile (1978), aboard ship, no one was allowed his or her own dressing room, so she shared a dressing room with Bette Davis and Angela Lansbury.
- One of the first people to have a star on the Avenue of Stars - a British version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Seven other Harry Potter actors also have one.
- One went to school, one wanted to act, one started to act, and one's still acting.
- "Jude is the most incredibly level person. Generous, understanding. All the things I'd have to work very hard at, Jude is like that all the time. I would love to be like that. And working with Jude you have to try to remember that you ought to be like that" [on her friend Judi Dench].
- I love it, I'm privileged to do it and I don't know where I'd be without it. [on acting]
- The performances you have in your head are always much better than the performances on stage.
- "I still miss him so much it's ridiculous. People say it gets better but it doesn't. It just gets different, that's all. Even in my dream I kept saying to him, 'You are dead. You can't be here'" [on her second husband, Beverley Cross].
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