Maggie Smith tributes: JK Rowling, Harry Potter and Downton Abbey co-stars pay respect to acting legend
JK Rowling says she thought the Oscar-winner would ‘live forever’, while ‘Downton Abbey’ co-star Hugh Bonneville cals her a ‘true legend’
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Dame Maggie Smith’s Downton Abbey co-star Hugh Bonneville and Harry Potter co-star Bonnie Wright have led tributes to the iconic actor after she died at the age of 89.
Bonneville, who starred alongside Dame Maggie in the ITV drama, remembered her as a “true legend of her generation” who had “sharp wit and formidable talent”.
Wright, who played Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise, recalled her favorite scene with Smith being “when we were all learning to dance for the Yule Ball” in the fourth movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens announced on Friday the Oscar-winning actress had died in Chelsea and Westminster hospital.
A statement from her children said: “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27 September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.
“She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
“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.
“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”
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King Charles praises Maggie Smith’s ‘warmth and wit’
King Charles III praised the late Dame Maggie Smith for her “warmth and wit”, sharing a statement alongside a photograph of the pair speaking at the Pride Of Britain awards at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel in October 2016.
“My wife and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” said Charles.
“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.”
King Charles praises Maggie Smith’s ‘warmth and wit’ in touching tribute to late star
The monarch remembered Smith as a ‘national treasure’
Downtown Abbey remembers ‘A true British icon’
On X/Twitter, the official Downtown Abbey shared an image of Smith as grand matriarch Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham.
They captioned the picture: “A true British icon. Thank you for everything, Dame Maggie Smith.“
A full list of Maggie Smith’s film appearances
Maggie Smith appeared in dozens of films over more than 60 years. Roles ranged from her iconic turn in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to her Professor Minerva McGonagall in seven Harry Potter films, and films from Shakespeare’s Othello to the animated Gnomeo & Juliet.
Read more for the full list of her film credits:
Maggie Smith, who died Friday aged 89, appeared in dozens of films over more than 60 years
Daniel Radcliffe recalls Harry Potter co-star Maggie Smith’s ‘gloriously sharp tongue’
Daniel Radcliffe has written a heartfelt tribute to his late Harry Potter co-star Dame Maggie Smith, who has died at the age of 89.
Radcliffe played the boy wizard in eight movies from 2001 to 2011, with Smith appearing in all but one of the films as Professor Minerva McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor House and the deputy headmistress at Hogwarts under Albus Dumbledore.
Read more:
The Harry Potter star remembered first meeting the late actor when he was 9
Whoopi Goldberg reveals how Maggie Smith helped her after mother’s death
Actor Whoopi Goldberg has talked about how her late Sister Act co-star Dame Maggie Smith helped her through a difficult moment in her life.
The View co-host was in London in 2010 for the West End musical adaptation of the 1992 film Sister Act when she took a call from her late brother, Clyde K Johnson, who said their mother had an aneurysm and was on life support.
Read more:
‘She is one of those people for whom I would do anything. Anything Maggie Smith needs, I got her covered,’ The View co-host says
Whoopi Goldberg says she won’t do a third Sister Act film without Maggie Smith
Sister Act star Whoopi Goldberg previously stated that she wouldn’t do a third film without Maggie Smith.
Smith starred as Mother Superior in the film series’s first two movies.
Back in a 2023 interview on Loose Women, Goldberg, who led the movie as undercover nun Deloris Van Cartier, shared that she couldn’t do another sequel without her co-star Smith.
“You know, one of the things that I want to make sure I do while I’m here is… I want to let Maggie Smith know that I’m holding the part of Mother Superior for you. Because I just can’t do it with anybody but you,” she said.
Read more:
‘We will do whatever you want us to do, but we don’t want to do it without you,’ Goldberg appealed to Smith
Boxer Frank Bruno shares funny anecdote about meeting Maggie Smith
Smith’s fans came from far and wide, and included the former world heavyweight boxing champion Frank Bruno.
On X/Twitter, Bruno shared: “We met a few times I said to her once as a joke ‘you are not going to have a go at me or tell me off are you?’
“She said ‘what do you mean?’
“I said ‘Every film I have seen you in you are really strict’
“She said ‘Acting Frankie, just Acting. Now sit down shut up and be a good boy’
“Then a big laugh from her followed by one from me. Wonderful lady and great fun to be with.”
Emma Watson says Maggie Smith was ‘a true definition of greatness’
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, says she has grown to appreciate Smith’s achievements more as she’s gotten older.
On her Instagram Stories, Watson wrote: “When I was younger I had no idea of Maggie’s legend - the woman I was fortunate enough to share space with.
“It is only as I’ve become an adult that l’ve come to appreciate that I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness.
“She was real, honest, funny and self-honouring. Maggie, there were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own. Thank you for all of your kindness. I’ll miss you.”
Wands up to Hogwart’s best teacher Maggie Smith
Harry Potter fans are putting their “wands up” for Maggie Smith.
Fans of the movie franchise will remember that in the sixth movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Hogwarts student body illuminated their wands and rose them to the sky out of respect for Professor Dumbledore after his death.
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