RIP legendary actress Maggie Smith, famous for Harry Potter, Downton Abbey, and much more

British actress Maggie Smith has died at the age of 89 in a London hospital, according to a statement released by her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, both actors themselves. “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” they said, per the AP.

Maggie Smith was regularly cited as one of the preeminent British actresses of her generation, alongside the likes of Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave. She won two Oscars during her long career, for 1969's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and for 1978's California Suite, and was nominated for many more, including Othello, Travels With My Aunt, Room With a View and Gosford Park.

Roles like these brought her the respect of her peers and the admiration of fans; it was always obvious that Maggie Smith was an intelligent performer who could twist any line for maximum dramatic or comedic effect. But it wasn't until her older years that she became world famous, thanks to her roles as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies and as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey.

In her late 70s, Smith was the highlight of Downton Abbey, turning Violet into a sharp-tongued quip machine who regularly went viral. This gave Smith, who was known to be a private person, a level of fame she wasn't used to, and she didn't always seem comfortable with it. She's wryly called her later roles "a gallery of grotesques" and once quipped that "Harry Potter is my pension." Of course, these are exactly the kinds of witty retorts fans loved her for, so she only became more beloved. “It’s true I don’t tolerate fools, but then they don’t tolerate me, so I am spiky,” Smith once said. “Maybe that’s why I’m quite good at playing spiky elderly ladies.”

Smith's colleagues have started to pay tribute to her, including Hugh Bonneville, who played Robert Crawley on Downton Abbey. “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent,” he said. “She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances."

To give you an idea of just how influential Smith was, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer even weighed in, calling Smith “a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come.”

RIP to Maggie Smith. We shall never see her like again.

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