Dame Maggie Smith: A Mentor, Mother, and Grandmother
The death of the legendary dame Maggie Smith is a blow to many communities who saw her as a loving mother figure.
At 89 years old, the legendary dame Maggie Smith dies peacefully in the hospital. While confirming her death, her two sons — Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin — also offer their thanks to the staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital who provided her care for her “final days.” Describing her as an “intensely private person,” her two sons, along with her five loving grandchildren, grieve the loss of their “extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
“She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.”
While she had many roles, her most notable ones include Downton Abbey‘s Violet Crawley and the sharp and witty Transfigurations professor from Harry Potter, Professor Minerva McGonagall.
A Mother Figure Off-Screen and On-Screen
The eight-time BAFTA winner had a stellar career, being an inspiration for women who find themselves aging. Her sharp and classy wit showed moms and daughters everywhere that there was a way to assert oneself in the classiest way possible. Especially in the Harry Potter movie series and book, Maggie Smith delivered one-liners that had everyone in the audience cheering her on.
“He has achieved high marks in all Defense Against the Dark Arts tests set by a competent teacher.” — this is only one of McGonagall’s most famous lines as she bites back the notorious Dolores Umbridge. A line although not said in the movie, most fans can hear it in her voice.
Her many co-stars in the beloved fantasy series paid tribute to her. Daniel Radcliffe, who brought the titular character Harry Potter to life, admitted to being “spellbound by her.”
“Other that my parents were awestruck, I knew virtually nothing about her other,” he admits. “The other thing I knew about her was that she was a Dame, so the first thing I asked her when we met was, ‘Would you like me to call you Dame?’ To which she laughed and said something to the effect of ‘don’t be ridiculous!’ She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot, and then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the Harry Potter films.”
Emma Watson also offered a heartwarming tribute to the legendary actress, lauding her achievements. “When I was younger I had no idea of Maggie’s legend—the woman I was fortunate to share space with. It is only as I’ve become an adult that I’ve come to appreciate that I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness. She was real, honest, funny and self-honoring. Maggie, there were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own.”
The perfect blend of sassy and classy that Dame Maggie Smith carried even to her character in Downton Abbey, Violet Crawley.
“My dear, love is a far more dangerous motive than dislike.” — yet another one of her wise and sassy comebacks.
Her lines becoming so memorable that her fans could recite them from memory was proof of Maggie’s dedication to acting. Despite receiving a life-changing diagnosis of Breast Cancer at 74, she fought off the disease to make sure she could return to the silver screen.
May the legendary dame Maggie Smith rest in power
As the Harry Potter fandom raises their wands in memory of Professor Minerva McGonagall, her friends and family remember her as a mother and a grandmother. Maggie Smith reportedly was also exceptionally proud of her boys who chose to forge their careers in entertainment with little to no help from her. The celebrity dads even reported and admitted that she and their dad, her ex-husband Robert Stephens, weren’t initially too keen about their choice to join the entertainment industry.
Once again, another legendary icon passes on. Rest in power, Dame Maggie Smith.
More about stellar actors and actresses?
Remembering James Earl Jones: The Voice of Icons
Remembering Matthew Perry in Death: How He Taught Us How to Laugh
Ewan McGregor Earns His Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
