Maggie Smith, whose acting career on stage and screen spanned six decades, died late last week, a few months before what would have been her 90th birthday. An alumna of the Oxford Playhouse, she garnered her first Academy Award nomination for 1965’s Othello. Her star continued to rise with the title role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969).
Smith remained active in the following decades, with credits including Death on the Nile (1978), A Room with a View (1985), Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), and The Secret Garden (1993). In the 21st century, she gained a new generation of fans with the Harry Potter film franchise and the TV series Downtown Abbey, the latter inspired by the 2001 Robert Altman film Gosford Park.
With two Oscars, four Primetime Emmys, and a Tony Award, Smith was among the small circle of performers to attain to the “Triple Crown” of acting. She was predeceased by her second husband, English playwright A. Beverly Cross, in 1998.
