Dame Maggie Smith, best known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, will be remembered as a “true legend” of stage and screen after her death at the age of 89.
The king, the prime minister, and many of her co-stars throughout her long career paid their respects.
King Charles described her as a “national treasure” and Sir Keir Starmer said she was “loved by many for her incredible talent”.
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe fondly remembered her “fierce intellect” and “splendidly sharp tongue”.
Miriam Margolyes said she was “the best of the best”, combining “ferocity, a spark of mischief, joy and tenderness”.
“And incredible courage. I am in awe of her, as are all of her colleagues,” Margolies told BBC News.
“I saw how kind of a person she was and how completely terrifying she was.”
Dame McGee was known for her vitriol on and off screen during a colorful and acclaimed career that spanned eight decades.
In the Harry Potter films, she played the bitter Professor Minerva McGonagall, famous for her pointy witch’s hat and harsh attitude towards the young wizards at Hogwarts.
Paying tribute, Radcliffe said: “She had a fierce intellect, a surprisingly sharp tongue, could both intimidate and charm, and was, as everyone said, extremely funny.
“I always think I was incredibly lucky to work with her and spend time around her on set.
“The word legend is overused, but if it applies to anyone in this industry, it applies to her. Thank you, Maggie.”
Emma Watson said she didn’t really understand that little Hermione was sharing the screen “in the truest sense of greatness” until she was an adult.
In an Instagram post, she recalled the star as “genuine, honest, funny and self-respecting.”
“Maggie, there are a lot of male professors out there, but God, you were so protective of yours.”
In ITV’s hit drama Downton Abbey, Dame McGee played Violet Crawley, Countess of Grantham, the matriarch who excelled at boring one-liners throughout the show’s six series.
Elsewhere in her career, she won two Oscars for 1970’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brody and 1979’s California Sweet.
She received four other nominations and won seven BAFTAs.
In a statement, the king and queen said: “As the curtain falls on National Treasure, we, along with people around the world, remember her many wonderful performances and the warmth and wit that shined through them both with our deepest admiration and affection. ” he said. Both off stage and on stage. ”
The Prime Minister agreed that Dame McGee was “a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come”.
Sir Keir said she had “introduced us to new worlds in the countless stories she told over her long career”.
Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey, said: “Anyone who has worked with Maggie will attest to her keen eye, keen wit and formidable talent.
“She is a true legend of her generation and will, thankfully, live on in so many great screen performances.”
“There’s no one I love more than Maggie.”
Dame McGee reprized her role in two Downton Abbey films. In 2022’s Downton Abbey: The New Era, her character succumbed to the illness she revealed at the end of the 2019 film.
Co-star Dame Harriet Walter told BBC Radio 4’s PM show that he excelled in comedy as well as drama.
“She was a true comedian, but I’ve seen her play incredibly heartfelt, deep, sad roles. That’s the range of an actress like her.” she said.
“If she were just funny or just tragic, she wouldn’t have made that impression.”
Michelle Dockery, who played Lady Mary Crawley, Dame Maggie’s granddaughter on screen, told the BBC: “There was no one like Maggie.
“I feel very fortunate to have known such a maverick. She will be greatly missed and my thoughts are with her family.”
Lesley Nicol, who played Downton Abbey’s cook Mrs Patmore, told BBC Radio Ulster: “We’re a very close group and we’re all shocked to think she’s no longer with us.”
“Downton Abbey” creator and screenwriter Julian Fellowes told Variety: “It’s a sensitive, layered, intelligent, funny, heartbreaking piece of work that I enjoyed writing.” he said.
Downton followed the success of the 2002 period drama Gosford Park, which earned Dame McGee both an Oscar and a BAFTA nomination for her role as the Countess of Trentham.
Dame Christine Scott-Thomas, who co-starred with Dame McGee in Gosford Park, said: “She took her acting very seriously, but she saw through the nonsense and the razzmatazz.”
“She really didn’t want anything to do with it,” Dame Christine added.
“She had a great sense of humor and a quick wit that could get me into a fit of giggles. And she had no patience for fools. So I had to be a little careful. I really loved her.
“When I last saw her, she was very confused about how old she was. I think she said, ‘It’s frustrating.’ It is an existence without.”
A spokesperson for the National Theater also paid tribute, saying her career had “unparalleled reach across the worlds of theatre, film and television”.
The statement praised her stage performance and continued: “She will forever be remembered as one of the greatest actors with whom this country has had immense joy.”
Bafta added that she was a “legend of British stage and screen”.
Announcing her death on Friday “with great sadness”, her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said she “passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning”.
Sources said: “She was an extremely private person, but her final moments were with her friends and family.She leaves behind two sons and five beloved grandchildren, who are very special to her. I am devastated by the loss of my grandmother.”
They thanked “the wonderful staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and generous kindness in her final days.”
It added: “We appreciate everyone’s kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”
Dame McGee began her career in the 1950s and received her first Oscar nomination in 1965 for her role as Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare’s Othello.
The actress’ other memorable roles include the 1985 Merchant Ivory film A Room with a View, for which she was again nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA.
She appeared in the 1999 film Tea with Mussolini as a British woman living in 1930s Italy. And in the two Sister Act movies, she played the resolute and just Reverend Mother.
Sister Act co-star Whoopi Goldberg called Dame McGee “a wonderful woman and a wonderful actress,” adding, “I still can’t believe how lucky I was to work with this ‘one of a kind’ film.” No,” he added.
Rob Lowe, who co-starred with Dame McGee in 1993’s “Last Summer”, recalled “an unforgettable experience working with her”.
“Sharing a two-shot was like being paired with a lion,” he said.
“She could eat anyone alive, and she ate well, but she was funny, great company, and didn’t suffer fools.
“We’ll never see each other again. God give you speed, Mr. Smith!”
The veteran actress played an old woman who lived in a van outside Alan Bennett’s house for 15 years in the theatrical and film adaptations of Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van.
Alex Jennings, who played Bennett in the big screen version, told Radio 4 that she was “fearless” and praised her “amazing technical ability as an actress”.