Dame Maggie Smith is remembered by her Downton Abbey ‘son’ Hugh Bonneville and host of…

Maggie Smith has been remembered by her former co-stars and described as ‘wise, witty, waspish, wonderful’ in tributes after her death on Friday. 

Celebrities have taken to social media to share their memories of the Oscar-winning actress after she died in hospital on Friday morning aged 89. 

The British star was known for prominent roles as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise and as Violet Crawley in TV series Downton Abbey, as well as her Academy Award-winning performance in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

Paying tribute to his former co-star, Harry Potter star Rupert Grint – who played Ron Weasley in the franchise – updated his Instagram profile picture to a sweet throwback of the pair. 

Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville – who played her son in the show – also paid tribute.  

He told the BBC: ‘Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

‘She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.’

Dan Stevens – who played Matthew Crawley in the period drama – spoke out on his Instagram Story, writing ‘Truly one of The Greats. RIP’ alongside two pictures of his former co-star.

Gyles Brandreth was also quick to pay tribute and called the late actress ‘one of a kind in every way’.

Brandreth shared a photo of him with Smith on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: ‘The saddest news: the death of Dame Maggie Smith marks the end of a golden era & a quite extraordinary life.

‘She was a truly great actress, ‘one of the greats’ & simply the best company: wise, witty, waspish, wonderful.

‘One of a kind in every way and consequently irreplaceable.’

He also paid tribute on Times Radio, saying she was ‘a uniquely towering acting talent. I was just reflecting that one of the qualities that we have as a country is our history with theatre. 

‘Our actors are considered world class and if you look at the top of the world class, Maggie Smith is up there with the greatest. She is one of the greats.

What is remarkable about her, and the reason I say she’s one of the greats, is that she wasn’t just an exceptionally successful actress who could do it all. She had a unique quality. 

‘And I think to join the pantheon of the greatest, you have to have something about your voice, your look, your manner, that commands attention. She absolutely had that, right from the start. 

‘And she wouldn’t have regarded herself as either a comic actress or a classical actress. She could just do it all. She lacked personal vanity in the sense that she was able to play parts like The Lady in the Van, based on Alan Bennett’s play, turned into a movie, which was not a glamorous role. But she could also be incredibly glamorous… She was just a wonderful star. She had star quality, and she had the highest standards.

‘Sometimes people found her a little daunting, I think. Young actors, or even older actors, were a little bit nervous of her. They thought, what is she going to say because she could be caustic, she was witty. But if ever she was perceived as being difficult, it was only because she had the highest standards, both for herself and for other people.’

American actress Whoopi Goldberg paid tribute to Dame Maggie Smith and said she felt ‘lucky’ to have worked alongside her in Sister Act, where Dame Maggie played Reverend Mother Superior while Goldberg portrayed Deloris Van Cartier.

The US actress shared an old picture of the two on set of Sister Act, dressed as nuns, on Instagram and described her as a ‘great woman.’

She wrote in her post: ‘Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind’. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family… RIP.’

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes hailed Maggie as a ‘great person,’ saying that it was a privilege to have got to spend 24 years working together. 

Speaking on Sky, he said: ‘Maggie and I go back a bit now because the first time we worked together was on Gosford Park, which we made in about 2001. I was terrified of course, I remember, and she was always very kind, very professional, very funny – both in her acting and off the screen. 

‘And you never had to explain a line to her. You never had to explain why something was funny or any of that stuff – she had a marvellous instinctive grasp and of course her great gift as an actress was that she could make you cry your eyes out one minute and then laugh like a drain the next without turning into someone different. 

‘She could synthesise the character to have all these different aspects and she was a joy to write for and I’m very pleased that with Downton we gave her a busy last act of such an extraordinary stellar career.

‘I realised that I was working with a great genius, and of course in a way that makes you fumble and make sure you’re not talking rubbish, but she was very supportive, she was very interested in the creative process, and having decided that she liked the scene she really didn’t who you were or anything else – she just wanted to get the scene right and that priority made it easier. 

‘You have to stop worrying about all the things that don’t matter and just get on with getting it right, and I’d say that was the same for her in the 24 years that we worked together.

‘We got to each others ways and I consider myself a very, very lucky person to have worked with her.’ 

‘She was always quite dry – very witty and rather dry, and a very good analyst of people. She could make you laugh with describing people. She was very subtle in her appreciation of characters and of course her life was understanding character. 

Julian concluded: ‘She was a great person, I have no hesitation with saying that. A great person and it has been a privilege for me to have worked with her.’ 

Rob Lowe, who worked with Dame Maggie in 1992’s Suddenly, Last Summer, reflected on their time together. 

He penned: ‘Saddened to hear Dame Maggie Smith has passed. I had the unforgettable experience of working with her; sharing a two-shot was like being paired with a lion.’

‘She could eat anyone alive, and often did. But funny, and great company. And suffered no fools. We will never see another. God speed, Ms. Smith! 

Star Trek legend George Takei tweeted: ‘A grand star of screen and stage has departed.

‘Maggie Smith, known most recently for her unforgettable roles as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey and as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, passed away at age 89. Fans both old and young shall miss her dearly.’

Piers Morgan posted: ‘RIP Dame Maggie Smith. Magnificent actress, magnificent lady. As entertaining, sharp and witty off screen as she was off it. A very very sad loss for Britain.’

Omid Djalili tweeted: ‘We’ve lost one the best today.RIP Maggie Smith.’

Prime Minister Keir Starmer penned: ‘Dame Maggie Smith introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career. 

‘She was beloved by so many for her great talent, becoming a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace.’

The X account for Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street, also paid tribute, writing: ‘Farewell Dame Maggie – nobody has ever done a better job of playing a cat.’ 

Dame Maggie was described as a ‘legend of British stage and screen’ by BAFTA after she won five of their awards during her illustrious career. 

The orginisation tweeted: ‘We’re saddened to hear that actor Dame Maggie Smith, best known for the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89. 

‘Dame Maggie was a legend of British stage and screen, winning five BAFTAs as well as a BAFTA Special Award and BAFTA Fellowship during her highly acclaimed career.’

Dame Maggie’s children, Widow Clicquot actor Chris Larkin, and Die Another Day star Toby Stephens, announced her death in a statement.

Born in Ilford, Essex, on December 28, 1934, she was an internationally recognised actress for much of her life after playing the fanatical teacher Jean Brodie in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

She also won over Harry Potter fans later in life, when she appeared in the film series as the quick-witted, kind and formidable Professor McGonagall.

And in 2010 she was central to the success of ITV series Downton Abbey, in her Emmy-award winning role as the acerbic Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, which she continued to play in the films.

Larkin and Stephens, her sons from her first marriage, said in their statement: ‘It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. 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. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.

‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.

‘We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.’

Dame Maggie was one of the most versatile, accomplished and meticulous actresses of her generation, her repertoire ranging from Shakespeare to character parts in Harry Potter. 

She was a performer of contrasts, with an astonishing capacity to switch imperceptibly from radiance to melancholy, from quiet to boisterous, from graciousness to mischief within seconds.

Although she was a tour de force in leading roles on the West End stage, she was equally happy – even during the years of her mega-stardom – to accept supporting roles, particularly in films.

Truly professional and as near a perfectionist as she could be, she treated these roles with as much detailed and careful attention as she did her major parts.

Probably her greatest triumph was in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, for which she won her first Oscar.

But, Dame Maggie – she was made a DBE in 1990 – was self-deprecating about her abilities.

Her family background gave no indication that she would not only enter the acting profession but also become one of its leading exponents.

She said she had wanted, from childhood, to become an actress, but she did not see a play or a film until she was a teenager.

Nor did she receive much encouragement from her family, particularly one of her grandmothers, who remarked that she could not go into acting ‘with a face like that’. But none of this deterred her from her ambition.

Margaret Natalie Smith was born in Ilford, Essex, on December 28, 1934. She was educated at Oxford High School for Girls and later the Oxford Playhouse School, and first appeared on the stage as a girl of 18 in Twelfth Night.

She made an early mark in revues, as a singer and dancer. One fan who saw her on Broadway in New Faces of ’56, said he laughed so much he ended up banging his head on the seat in front of him.

She was spotted by Laurence Olivier, who saw her as much more than just a vaudeville performer and invited her to join the newly-formed Royal National Theatre Company in London.

There, and at the Old Vic, she excelled in both tragedy and comedy, moving easily from Shakespeare to Noel Coward, to Restoration comedy to Ibsen.

As a ‘rep’ actress, she was able to develop her incredible range, skill and talent among some of Britain’s best actors, including Robert Stephens, who was to become her first husband. They married in 1967 but divorced in 1974.

The film industry began to recognise her abilities and she was given several supporting roles.

But she first emerged as an international star with her virtuoso performance as the fanatical teacher Jean Brodie in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie. 

Even in smaller roles she could upstage the film ‘giants’. In one film, Richard Burton described her scene-stealing as ‘grand larceny’.

Dame Maggie won over a whole new generation of fans when she played Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films.

In 2010 she was central to the success of ITV series Downton Abbey, in her Emmy-award winning role as the acerbic Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

But she later told ES Magazine: ‘I am deeply grateful for the work in (Harry) Potter and indeed Downton (Abbey) but it wasn’t what you’d call satisfying.

‘I didn’t really feel I was acting in those things.’

Her numerous awards also covered her performances in Tea With Mussolini, A Room With A View, A Private Function and The Lonely Passion Of Judith Hearne.

Dame Maggie won a best actress Oscar for the role in 1970.

Other film roles include her portrayal of a drunken Oscar loser in California Suite, the dying older lover in Love, Pain And The Whole Damn Thing, the tragic lodger in The Lonely Passion Of Judith Hearne, and the so-called ‘funny old bat’ in Gosford Park, which brought her a sixth Oscar nomination.

She starred alongside Dame Judi Dench in the 2004 film Ladies In Lavender, and on stage in the David Hare play The Breath Of Life.

One of her most famous roles was as a bag lady in The Lady In The Van, the 2015 adaptation of Alan Bennett’s memoirs.

She recently starred in the 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, where Violet’s health deteriorates and she dies in an emotional end to her character.

The next year, she appeared in The Miracle Club, which follows a group of women from Dublin who go on a pilgrimage to the French town of Lourdes.

Dame Maggie’s second husband, the playwright Beverley Cross who she married in 1975, died in 1998.

She had two sons from her first marriage, Stephens and Larkin, who are both actors.