ACTOR · BORN 1934 · DIED 2024
Maggie Smith
- Born
- 28 December 1934, Ilford, Essex, England, UK
- Died
- 27 September 2024
- Known for
- Becoming Jane (2007), The First Wives Club (1996), A Room with a View (1986), Clash of the Titans (1981)
29 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Maggie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was an actor best known for Becoming Jane, The First Wives Club and A Room with a View.
29 Interesting Facts About Maggie Smith
Interesting Facts (12)
- #001
In 2008 it was reported that Maggie Smith was battling breast cancer. She had a tumor removed and underwent chemotherapy.
Maggie Smith: portraitImage: Wikimedia Commons · N/A studio, Public domain - #002
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), the duel scene between Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman was nearly cut during the film's script process. Her character was to be removed from the scene and replaced by another character. However, author J. K. Rowling insisted that the duel had to feature the same characters as in the novel, because she saw it as an important moment for Smith's character. The scene was filmed when Smith was 76 years old.
- #003
While filming Death on the Nile (1978) on board a ship, Maggie Smith would not let anyone into her dressing room, so she shared a dressing room with Bette Davis and Angela Lansbury.
- #004
Maggie Smith completed filming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) while undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer.
Maggie Smith: a sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Dame_Maggie_Smith.jpg : The original uploader was Kebl0597 at English…, CC BY-SA 3.0 - #005
Maggie Smith was portrayed by Ian McKellen on Saturday Night Live (1975).
- #006
Maggie Smith attended a girls' school in Oxford, where she began in theatre as a quick girl and as an understudy in the Oxford Repertory. She claims she never went on because no one ever fell ill.
- #007
Maggie Smith delivered both of her sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, by caesarean section because both were in the breech position.
- #008
Maggie Smith appeared alongside Sir Laurence Olivier in "Rhinoceros" in the English Stage Company's 1960 London production. Olivier declared her acting "Marvellous."
- #009
Maggie Smith played fictional fascists twice: first as Jean Brodie in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), and later as Lady Hester Random in Tea with Mussolini (1999).
- #010
In 1964 she appeared in "The Master Builder" as part of the new National Theatre Company alongside Michael Redgrave and Celia Johnson, who had recently replaced the late Diana Wynyard. She and Johnson would later appear together in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969).
- #011
She made her BBC television debut as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (1967), with her husband Sir Robert Stephens playing Benedick.
- #012
She was the daughter of Nathaniel Smith (1902-1991) and Margaret Hutton Smith (née Little, 1896-1977).
Behind the Scenes (9)
- #013
In Richard III (1995), although Maggie Smith played the mother of John Wood and Nigel Hawthorne, she was five years younger than Hawthorne and four years younger than Wood.
- #014
She attended a girls' school in Oxford, began in theatre as a quick-study girl and as an understudy at the Oxford Repertory. She claims she never went on because no one fell ill.
- #015
She was a member of the Old Vic Company from 1959 to 1963, when the company was disbanded. This formed the basis of the new National Theatre, arranged by Sir Laurence Olivier, who invited her to join. In 1964, at the National Theatre's temporary home in the Old Vic theatre building, she gave an unforgettable performance as Desdemona opposite Olivier's Othello. By repeating that performance in the 1965 film made from the production, she earned her first of six Oscar nominations, for Best Supporting Actress.
- #016
At the 2002 Oscars, Whoopi Goldberg introduced her, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith as "The Smith Family." Whoopi and Maggie, incidentally, appeared together in the Sister Act films.
- #017
During the period she was cast in a role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), the producers approached her for other film roles in Cactus Flower (1969) and Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), but she turned them down because she wanted to limit her film work and focus more on the theatre.
- #018
She was depicted on one of a set of eight British commemorative postage stamps issued on August 30, 2018, celebrating the 200th anniversary of The Old Vic Theatre. The stamp shows Smith in her 1970 performance of Hedda Gabler. The other artists featured on stamps in this set are Laurence Olivier, Glenda Jackson, Albert Finney, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Judi Dench, John Stride and Richard Burton.
- #019
She is the mother-in-law of the actress Anna-Louise Plowman.
- #020
She is one of 25 actors to win an Oscar for a comedic performance; hers was for California Suite (1978). The others, in chronological order, are: Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night (1934)), Loretta Young (The Farmer's Daughter (1947)), Josephine Hull (Harvey (1950)), Judy Holliday (Born Yesterday (1950)), Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday (1953)), Goldie Hawn (Cactus Flower (1969)), Glenda Jackson (A Touch of Class (1973)), Lee Grant (Shampoo (1975)), Diane Keaton (Annie Hall (1977)), Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard (1980)), Jessica Lange (Tootsie (1982)), Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck (1987)), Cher (Moonstruck (1987)), Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy (1989)), Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King (1991)), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny (1992)), Dianne Wiest (Bullets Over Broadway (1994)), Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite (1995)), Frances McDormand (Fargo (1996)), Helen Hunt (As Good as It Gets (1997)), Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love (1998)), Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love (1998)), Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook (2012)).
- #021
Her guest appearance on the Bradley Cooper/Sienna Miller/Dame Maggie Smith/Alex Jennings (2015) programme marked her first appearance on a television talk show since guesting on Episode #2.33 (1973) 42 years earlier.
Characters & Cast (1)
- #022
While Maggie Smith was cast for a role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), the producers approached her about other film roles in Cactus Flower (1969) and Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), but she turned them down because she wanted to limit her film work and focus more on theatre.
Career & Awards (6)
- #023
Maggie Smith made her stage debut with the Oxford University Dramatic Society as Viola in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". The role, which drew the attention of an American theatre impresario, led to her casting in "New Faces of 1956", her Broadway debut.
- #024
At the 2002 Oscars, Whoopi Goldberg introduced Maggie Smith, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith as "The Smith Family." Whoopi and Maggie had previously appeared together in the Sister Act films.
- #025
Her first major success as a film actress came when she replaced Liselotte Pulver in The V.I.P.S (1963), a performance that earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
- #026
She was not present to accept her first Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969); it was accepted on her behalf by Alice Ghostley, who mistakenly credited the film's direction to its producer Robert Fryer. Ghostley was known for playing a witch (Esmerelda) on Bewitched, while Smith would become famous to later generations for playing a witch (Prof. Minerva McGonagall) in the Harry Potter films. Moreover, both series depict magical characters using a single word to refer to humans (mortal in Bewitched, Muggle in the Harry Potter series).
- #027
She became the 68th actor to win an Oscar, taking the Best Actress Oscar for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) at the 42nd Annual Academy Awards (1970) on 7 April 1970.
- #028
Despite numerous nominations, Dame Maggie remarkably never won a competitive BAFTA TV award or Laurence Olivier theatre award.
Life & Family (1)
- #029
Maggie Smith's father, Nathaniel, was a Geordie and a pathologist. Her mother, Margaret, was from Glasgow and was a secretary.
Related pages
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead — Maggie Smith comes up in the facts on that page
- Katharine Hepburn — Maggie Smith comes up in the facts on that page
- Knives Out — Maggie Smith comes up in the facts on that page
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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