Maggie Smith was a British actress whose career spanned over seven decades across the screen and stage. After her debut on Broadway, Maggie Smith was known for her witty dialogues in humorous roles.
Maggie Smith is known to play the role of Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies. Throughout her career, Maggie Smith received two Academy Awards, four Emmy awards, one Tony award, five BAFTA awards, and three Golden Globe awards.
Maggie Smith is also known for her roles in Downton Abbey, The Secret Garden, Death on the Nile, Hook, Sister Act, Quartet, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and The Lady in the Van. Maggie Smith passed away on September 27, 2024.
Maggie Smith's movies
1) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The first installment of the Harry Potter series introduces us to Harry Potter, a young wizard unaware of the magical world. When he is invited to study at the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he explores the reasons behind his parents' deaths and their murderer Lord Voldemort. Harry also finds friends in Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Dame Maggie Smith plays the role of Professor Minerva McGonagall, a teacher and the head of the Gryffindor house at Hogwarts. Harry upon arrival at Hogwarts is sorted to the Gryffindor house. McGonagall remains a pivotal character in the series often portrayed as a guardian figure for Harry.
Where to watch: Peacock
2) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie features Maggie Smith as Jean Brodie. The British drama film is about an unconventional teacher called Jean Brodie who teaches at an all-girls school in Scotland.
Set in the 1930s, Jean Brodie is a teacher who often ditches the curriculum to teach her students about leaders like Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco. Much to the administration's dismay, Brodie invests her time and energy in girls that she handpicks and believes that she can shape.
She calls the girls the 'Brodie Set'. Brodie teaches them about art, culture, and politics while navigating romance. As Brodie's mentorship leads to a devastating outcome for one of the girls, soon the rest begin to see through her teachings.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The concluding chapters of the Harry Potter series follow Harry, Ron, and Hermione on a quest to destroy Horcruxes, objects of relevance to Lord Voldemort which contain a piece of his soul.
Destruction of such objects will lead to the destruction of Lord Voldemort as well. As they find Horcruxes, Hogwarts is taken over by Severus Snape a seeming ally of Lord Voldemort and he brings death eaters, the followers of Lord Voldemort, and those who practice dark magic as professors in Hogwarts.
McGonagall fights alongside her colleagues, fellow wizards, and students to protect the wizarding world from Lord Voldemort. After the Battle of Hogwarts, she succeeds as the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Where to watch: Peacock
4) California Suite
Inspired by a play of the same name, California Suite is a comedy film that consists of four short films that are connected and tell the story of different guests who have stayed in the luxury suite of the hotel.
One of the stories is about an award-winning actress (played by Maggie Smith) who tries to come to terms with how she has denied the fact that her marriage isn't working as her husband is gay.
Where to watch: AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video
5) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
A British comedy-drama film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is about a group of British retirees who decide to move to Jaipur and live in a luxury retirement home. When the retirees arrive, they find the retirement home in shambles.
Run by an enthusiastic but confused manager, the group decides to put aside their cultural differences and embrace the ambitions that lie ahead. While doing so, they end up bonding with the manager who is trying to establish a place in the world for himself. Smith plays the role of Muriel Donnelly in the film.
Where to watch: Fandango at Home, AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video
6) Suddenly, Last Summer
Suddenly, Last Summer is a mystery Southern Gothic film about a young woman named, Catherine Holly. After seeing her cousin's death last summer while traveling, Catherine is sent to a mental institution.
Afraid that the true circumstances under which her son died would ruin their family's social standing, Catherine's aunt pressures a psychiatrist to consider giving Catherine a lobotomy.
Where to watch: Fandango at Home, AppleTV
Maggie Smith TV Shows
1) Downton Abbey
Downtown Abby is a historical drama that unfolds at the beginning of the 20th century. The series is set in a fictional Yorkshire estate known as Downtown Abby and follows the aristocratic Crawley family and its servants.
The series which shows the period between 1912 and 1926 depicts the effects of various political events in the history of Britain in the early 20th century such as the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, an outbreak of Spanish influenza, the Irish War for Independence as well as the formation of the free Irish State.
Through its depiction of aristocracy and its relationship with these relevant social and political events the show charts out the decline of the British aristocracy. Dame Maggie Smith plays Violet Crawley, The Dowager Countess of Grantham.
Where to watch: Fandango at Home, Peacock
2) My House in Umbria
My House in Umbria is a 2003 television show directed by Richard Loncraine and is based on a novella of the same name by the author William Trevor. The film follows Emily Delahunty, played by Dame Maggie Smith, an eccentric romance novel writer living in Umbria, Italy with her servants and manager Quinty.
Mrs. Delahunty's train is attacked by terrorists and as she recovers from the attack in the hospital she invites three other survivors and The General, who lost his daughter in the explosion.
Werner, who lost his girlfriend in the explosion and suffered burns himself, and Aimee, who has gone mute after the trauma of her parents' death in the terrorist explosion are also invited. The series shows how Mrs. Delahunty's lonely life is fulfilled by this odd group of people and how she develops a special bond with Aimee.
Where to watch: AppleTV
3) David Copperfield
David Copperfield is a BBC television drama adapted from Charles Dickens's 1850 novel of the same name. The television series was broadcast by the BBC in two parts. With the first part airing on Christmas Day 1999 and the second part being aired the following day.
The series covers the childhood and the life of a fatherless boy called David Copperfield who is rejected by his great aunt Betsey Trotwood, played by Dame Maggie Smith for being a boy. David's raised with a lot of love by his mother and she remarries and stern disciplinarian Edward Murdstone.
Where to watch: Hulu
4) The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety/sketch comedy show starring comedian, Carol Burnett. Maggie Smith would feature in the show as a guest star. The show was known among audiences for its music performances, comedy sketches, and notable guest stars. Apart from Carol Burnett, the show's cast included Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner, Vicki Lawrence, and Tim Conway.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
These are some of the movies and TV shows starring Maggie Smith.
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