The British actress, known for her roles in the "Harry Potter" films and "Downton Abbey", fell asleep at a hospital in London on Friday morning.
"She leaves behind two sons and five beloved grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother", say Smith's sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens in a statement.
The Parents Disapproved
Smith was born in British Ilford in 1934 and later grew up in Oxford, where she moved at the age of four with her father and mother, who disapproved of her acting ambitions.
"I swear to God, I have no idea where that longing came from. It was a terrifying time and we never went to the theatre. I got into terrible trouble when the neighbors took me to the cinema on a Sunday", Smith said in an interview with The Standard in 2019.
Smith began her acting career in 1952 at the Oxford Playhouse and made her Broadway debut four years later in the production "New Faces". Her film debut was in the movie "Crime Pays" in 1958.
"I went to school, I wanted to act, I started acting, I'm still acting", Smith has previously briefly summarized her life, writes AP.
Swedish Influences
Smith is counted among the greatest British actresses of her generation and has been awarded, among other things, an Oscar for her leading role in "The Prime of Miss Brodie" and another for her performances in "California Suite". In addition, she has been awarded a Tony, three Golden Globes, and five Baftas. In 1990, she was also knighted with the title Dame Maggie Smith.
During her long career, Smith has pointed out two directors who had a great influence on her: British William Gaskill and Swedish Ingmar Bergman.
Maggie Smith has two sons with actor Robert Stephens, whom she married in 1967. The two divorced in 1975, and the same year she married screenwriter Beverly Cross. Since Cross's death in 1998, the actress has lived alone.
"I don't think I would ever be able to find anyone who would come close to Bev", Smith said in an interview with The Standard in 2016.
