Emma Watson is mourning the loss of her Harry Potter co-star. The actress and activist took to her Instagram on Friday, September 27, to express grief and pay tribute to Dame Maggie Smith, who passed away earlier in the day at age 89.
“When I was younger, I had no idea of Maggie’s legend — the woman I was fortunate enough 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,” Watson, who starred alongside Maggie in all eight Harry Potter films, wrote. She continued, “She was real, honest, funny, and self-honoring. Maggie, there were a lot of male professors, and by God, you held your own. Thank you for all your kindness. I’ll miss you.”
Smith passed away peacefully at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital according to a statement given by her two sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens to BBC. The actress was with her friends and family when she breathed her last, the statement noted, adding that she is survived by her sons and five grandchildren, who were devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.
Born in 1934, Smith spent her formative years in Oxford and began acting at the city’s Playhouse theatre as a teenager. While appearing in a string of well-celebrated stage shows, including Bamber Gascoigne’s 1957 musical comedy Share My Lettuce opposite Kenneth Williams, Maggie also swiftly made inroads into films.
Her first impactful performance on the big screen came in Nowhere to Go (1958), for which she received a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA nomination. Though she did not get an opportunity to take the mask-shaped statue home then, later in her career, she was awarded eight of those, including one for a BAFTA Fellowship, the highest honor the Academy can bestow.
Maggie Smith was also a two-time Oscar recipient by virtue of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and California Suite. For her role in the former film, she received the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar; for the latter, she was awarded the Best Actress in a Supporting Role prize.
In addition to the stage and big screen, Maggie also made her impact on the small screen when she starred as the Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey.
King Charles and Queen Camilla paid tribute to Smith, saying: “As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering, with the fondest admiration and affection, her many great performances, and her warmth and wit that shone through both off and on the stage.”
Regarding her personal life, Smith was married twice: to fellow actor Robert Stephens between 1967 and 1975, and to Beverley Cross from 1975 until his death in 1988.
