Dame Maggie Smith, best known for the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey, has been remembered as “a true legend” of stage and screen following her death at the age of 89.
Tributes have been paid by the King and prime minister, as well as numerous co-stars from her long career.
King Charles described her as “a national treasure”, while Sir Keir Starmer said she was “beloved by so many for her great talent”.
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe fondly remembered her “fierce intellect” and “gloriously sharp tongue”.
Miriam Margolyes said she was “the best of the best”, who combined “ferocity, a glint of mischief, delight and tenderness”.
“And enormous courage. I’ve been in awe of her, as all her colleagues are,” Margolyes told BBC News.
“I saw what a kind person she could be – as well as absolutely terrifying.”
Dame Maggie was known for her sharp tongue on screen and off during a varied and acclaimed career that spanned eight decades.
In the Harry Potter films, she played the acerbic Professor Minerva McGonagall, famous for her pointed witch’s hat and stern manner with the young wizards at Hogwarts.
Paying tribute, Radcliffe said: “She was a fierce intellect, had a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny.
“I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set.
“The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.”
Emma Watson said she didn’t quite appreciate that young Hermione was sharing the screen “with a true definition of greatness” until her adult years.
Posting on Instagram, she remembered the star for being “real, honest, funny and self-honouring”.
“Maggie, there are a lot of male professors and by God you held your own.”
Elsewhere in her career, she won two Oscars – for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and California Suite in 1979.
She had four other nominations, and received seven Bafta awards.
In a statement, the King and Queen said: “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.”
The prime minister agreed that Dame Maggie was “a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come”.
She “introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career”, Sir Keir said.
Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey, said: “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.”
‘No-one quite like Maggie’
Dame Maggie reprised her role for the two Downton Abbey films. In 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, her character died of the illness she revealed at the end of the 2019 film.
Co-star Dame Harriet Walter told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme she excelled at comedy as well as drama.
“She was a true comedian, but also I’ve seen her playing some incredibly heartfelt, deep, sad roles, which is the huge range of an actress like her,” she said.
“If she was merely funny or merely tragic, she wouldn’t quite have made that sort of impression.”
Michelle Dockery, who played Dame Maggie’s on-screen granddaughter Lady Mary Crawley, told the BBC: “There was no-one quite like Maggie.
“I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”
Lesley Nicol, who played Downton Abbey’s cook Mrs Patmore, told BBC Radio Ulster: “It’s a very close group of people so we’re all devastated to think she’s not around any more.”
Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes told Variety magazine she was “a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking”.
Downton followed the success of 2002 period drama Gosford Park, which earned Dame Maggie both Oscar and Bafta nominations for playing the Dowager Countess of Trentham.
PA Media