Dame Maggie Smith: an intensely private national treasure

Her mother told her she didn't have the looks to be an actor, but Smith went on to win awards and capture hearts

Maggie Smith smiling at a film premiere
Dame Maggie Smith arrives for a gala screening of her film 'The Lady In The Van' in London in 2015
(Image credit: John Phillips / Getty Images)

Dame Maggie Smith's flair for both comedy and tragedy made her one of Britain's most formidable actors, said The Hollywood Reporter. She won the first of six Oscar nominations in 1965, starring opposite Laurence Olivier in "Othello", before scooping the prize four years later for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie".

By 1990, her talent had seen her become a Dame, "but in many ways," said CNN, "her best roles were yet to come". She went on to win the hearts of young fans playing the "strict but fair" Professor McGonagall in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", a role she reprised in all but one of the films, before taking on what The Guardian called "arguably her most impactful TV role" as the Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey".

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Elizabeth Carr-Ellis is a freelance journalist and was previously the UK website's Production Editor. She has also held senior roles at The Scotsman, Sunday Herald and Hello!. As well as her writing, she is the creator and co-founder of the Pausitivity #KnowYourMenopause campaign and has appeared on national and international media discussing women's healthcare.