Remembering legendary actress DAME MAGGIE SMITH | West End Best Friend
This afternoon, the news broke that the iconic stage and screen actress Dame Maggie Smith has passed away at the age of 89.
Often recognized for her role as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies and as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in ITV's Downton Abbey, Smith’s illustrious career extended over a remarkable seventy years.
Smith made her stage debut at the age of 17, playing Viola in Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse. In 1956, she took her first step into professional theater on Broadway with the production New Faces of ’56.
She had a significant career at the National Theatre, where she famously portrayed Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier in Othello. After that, she took part in the Stratford Festival in Canada, before coming back to the UK to perform in the West End.
Smith received a Tony Award in 1990 for her role in "Lettice and Lovage," a play that Peter Schaffer wrote especially for her. Additionally, she won an Oscar for her performance in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" in 1969 and again for "California Suite" in 1978.
Her latest performance on stage was in A German Life at the Bridge Theatre, where she earned an Evening Standard Theatre Award for her role.
We are thinking of and sending our heartfelt support to Maggie Smith's family and friends during this challenging period.
