Dame Maggie Smith
DBE |
Smith filming in Kensington Gardens,
7 March 2007 |
| Born |
Margaret Natalie Smith
(1934-12-28) 28 December 1934 (age 77)
Ilford, London, England, UK |
| Other names |
Dame Maggie Smith |
| Occupation |
Actress |
| Years active |
1952–present |
| Spouse |
Robert Stephens (1967–74, divorced)
Beverley Cross (1975–98, his death) |
| Children |
Chris Larkin, Toby Stephens |
Dame Margaret Natalie "Maggie" Smith, DBE (born 28 December 1934) is an English film, stage and television actress. She has had an extensive career both on screen and in live theatre, and is known as one of Britain's pre-eminent actors. She made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 60 years. She has won numerous awards for acting, both for the stage and for film, including seven BAFTA Awards (five competitive awards and two special awards including the Bafta Fellowship in 1996), two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, two Emmy Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, two SAG Awards and a Tony Award. Dame Maggie is the only actor ever to win this collective of awards and is one of the most successful and acclaimed actors of the film era.
Her critically acclaimed films include Othello (1965), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), Travels with My Aunt (1972), California Suite (1978), Clash of the Titans (1981), A Room with a View (1985) and Gosford Park (2001). She has also appeared in a number of widely-popular films, including Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992) and as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series. She currently stars in the critically acclaimed drama Downton Abbey as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, for which she has won an Emmy.
Margaret Natalie Smith was born in Ilford, London. She is the daughter of Margaret Smith (née Hutton), a Glasgow-born secretary, and Nathaniel Smith, a Newcastle upon Tyne-born public health pathologist who worked at Oxford University.[1][2][3][4][5] She has older twin brothers, Alistair and Ian, who went to architecture school.[6] Smith studied at Oxford High School.
Smith began her career at the Oxford Playhouse with Frank Shelley and made her first film in 1956. She became a fixture at the Royal National Theatre in the 1960s, most notably for playing Desdemona in Othello opposite Laurence Olivier and winning her first Oscar nomination for her performance in the 1965 film version.
She appeared with Ronnie Barker at the Oxford Playhouse in the play The Housemaster and various others. Barker did not think much of her, saying "she only had two styles-either grand and rather camp, or sharp cockney".[7]
In 1969, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as an unorthodox Scottish schoolteacher in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, a role originally created on stage by Vanessa Redgrave in 1966 in London. (Zoe Caldwell won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play when she created the role in New York.) Smith was also awarded the 1978 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the brittle actress Diana Barry in California Suite, acting opposite Michael Caine. Afterwards, on hearing that Michael Palin was about to embark on a film (The Missionary) with Smith, Caine is supposed to have humorously telephoned Palin, warning him that she would steal the film. She also starred with Palin in the black comedy A Private Function in 1984.
Smith appeared in Sister Act in 1992 and had a major role in the 1999 film Tea with Mussolini, where she appeared as the formidable Lady Hester. Indeed, many of her more mature roles have centred on what Smith refers to as her "gallery of grotesques", playing waspish, sarcastic or plain rude characters. Recent examples of this would include the judgmental sister in Ladies in Lavender and the cantankerous snob Constance, Countess of Trentham, in Gosford Park, for which she received another Oscar nomination.
Other notable roles include the querulous Charlotte Bartlett in the Merchant-Ivory production of A Room with a View, a vivid supporting turn as the aged Duchess of York in Ian McKellen's film of Richard III, and a little known but powerful performance as Lila Fisher in the 1973 film Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing with Timothy Bottoms. Due to the international success of the Harry Potter movies, she is now widely known for playing the role of Professor Minerva McGonagall, opposite Daniel Radcliffe, with whom she had previously worked in the 1999 BBC television adaptation of David Copperfield, playing Betsey Trotwood. She also plays an older Wendy in the Peter Pan movie Hook, and Mrs. Medlock in The Secret Garden. In 2010, she appeared as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the first and second series of the British period drama Downton Abbey.
She appeared in numerous productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, to acclaim from 1976 through to 1980. These roles included Queen Elizabeth in Richard III, Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth, Virginia Woolf in Virginia, and countless lead roles with long-time Stratford icon Brian Bedford including the Noël Coward comedy Private Lives.
On stage, her many roles have included the title character in the stage production of Alan Bennett's The Lady in the Van and starring as Amanda in a revival of Private Lives. She won a Tony Award in 1990 for Best Actress in a Play for Peter Shaffer's Lettice and Lovage, in which she starred as an eccentric tour guide in an English stately home. In 2007, she appeared in Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque at Theatre Royal Haymarket.
She appeared in a 1954 BBC television programme, Oxford Accents, produced by the late Ned Sherrin.[8] She was one of the performers, playing several roles, in New Faces of 1956 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre from 14 June to 22 December 1956.[9][10] She was "in Orange" in the musical comedy Share My Lettuce, based on the book by Bamber Gascoigne, that opened at the Lyric Hammersmith on 21 August 1957. With Anthony Bowles as musical director, it transferred to the Comedy Theatre on 25 September 1957 and to the Garrick Theatre on 27 January 1958. Smith's musical numbers in this performance included: Love's Cocktail (solo), On Train He'll Come (solo), Party Games (solo), Bubble Man (with Kenneth Williams) and Menu (with Kenneth Williams).[11] Eight photos from this performance as well as an article on Smith appeared in the November 1957 issue of Theatre World magazine.[12] One of Smith's earliest acting citations was as nominee for Most Promising Newcomer to Film of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for Nowhere To Go in 1958.[13] In Hollywood, Smith was a nominee for the Golden Globe Awards New Star of the Year (Actress) in 1964 for her performance in The V.I.P.s. In 2012, she earned another Golden Globe Awards nomination (her ninth) for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for series 1 of Downton Abbey.[14] Smith won her second Emmy Award for this role.[15]
In 2012, Maggie played Muriel in the British comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. She is also starring as Jean Horton in Quartet, based on Ronald Harwood's play, directed by Dustin Hoffman.
Smith was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1970 New Year Honours[16] and was raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in the 1990 New Year Honours.[17]
In 1986, she was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Bath.[18] She also received honorary degrees from the University of St Andrews in 1971 and the University of Cambridge in 1995.[19]
Smith has been married twice. She married actor Robert Stephens on 29 June 1967 at Greenwich Register Office. The couple had two sons: actors Chris Larkin (born in 1967) and Toby Stephens (born in 1969),[4] and divorced on 6 May 1974.[4] Smith is a grandmother via both her sons.[20][21]
She married playwright Beverley Cross on 23 August 1975 at the Guildford Register Office; he died on 20 March 1998.
In 2007, the Sunday Telegraph's Mandrake diary disclosed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She was subsequently reported to have made a full recovery.[22]
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1958 |
Nowhere to Go |
Bridget Howard |
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer |
| 1962 |
Go to Blazes |
Chantal |
|
| 1963 |
V.I.P.s, TheThe V.I.P.s |
Miss Mead |
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress |
| 1964 |
Pumpkin Eater, TheThe Pumpkin Eater |
Philpot |
|
| 1965 |
Othello |
Desdemona |
|
| Young Cassidy |
Nora |
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |
| 1967 |
Honey Pot, TheThe Honey Pot |
Sarah Watkins |
|
| 1968 |
Hot Millions |
Patty Terwilliger Smith |
|
| 1969 |
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, TheThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie |
Jean Brodie |
|
| 1969 |
Oh! What a Lovely War |
Music Hall Star |
|
| 1972 |
Travels with My Aunt |
Aunt Augusta |
|
| 1973 |
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing |
Lila Fisher |
|
| 1974 |
Carol Burnett Show, TheThe Carol Burnett Show |
Gwendylspire Boughgrough |
|
| 1975 |
Carol Burnett Show, TheThe Carol Burnett Show |
Ms. Collins |
|
| 1976 |
Murder by Death |
Dora Charleston |
|
| 1978 |
Death on the Nile |
Miss Bowers |
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| California Suite |
Diana Barrie |
|
| 1981 |
Quartet |
Lois Heidler |
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |
| Clash of the Titans |
Thetis |
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1982 |
Evil Under the Sun |
Daphne Castle |
|
| Missionary, TheThe Missionary |
Lady Isabel Ames |
|
| Better Late Than Never |
Miss Anderson |
|
| 1984 |
Private Function, AA Private Function |
Joyce Chilvers |
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |
| Lily in Love |
Lily Wynn |
Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actress |
| 1985 |
Room with a View, AA Room with a View |
Charlotte Bartlett |
|
| 1987 |
Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, TheThe Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne |
Judith Hearne |
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |
| Talking Heads |
Susan |
Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actress |
| 1991 |
Hook |
Wendy Darling |
|
| 1992 |
Sister Act |
Reverend Mother |
|
| Memento Mori |
Mrs. Mabel Pettigrew |
Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actress |
| 1993 |
Suddenly, Last Summer |
Violet Venable |
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit |
Reverend Mother |
|
| Secret Garden, TheThe Secret Garden |
Mrs. Medlock |
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| 1995 |
Richard III |
Duchess of York |
|
| 1996 |
First Wives Club, TheThe First Wives Club |
Gunilla Garson Goldberg |
National Board of Review Award for Best Cast |
| 1997 |
Washington Square |
Aunt Lavinia Penniman |
Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1999 |
Curtain Call |
Lily Gale |
|
| Last September, TheThe Last September |
Lady Myra Naylor |
|
| Tea with Mussolini |
Lady Hester Random |
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| All the King's Men |
Queen Alexandra |
|
| David Copperfield |
Betsey Trotwood |
|
| 2001 |
Gosford Park |
Constance, Countess of Trentham |
|
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
Professor Minerva McGonagall |
|
| 2002 |
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
Professor Minerva McGonagall |
Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast |
| Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood |
Caro Eliza Bennett |
|
| 2003 |
My House in Umbria |
Emily Delahunty |
|
| 2004 |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
Professor Minerva McGonagall |
|
| Ladies in Lavender |
Janet Widdington |
Nominated — European Film Award for Best Actress |
| 2005 |
Keeping Mum |
Grace Hawkins |
|
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire |
Professor Minerva McGonagall |
|
| 2007 |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
Professor Minerva McGonagall |
|
| Becoming Jane |
Lady Gresham |
|
| Capturing Mary |
Mary Gilbert |
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 2009 |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |
Professor Minerva McGonagall |
|
| From Time to Time |
Linnet Oldknow |
|
| 2010 |
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang |
Mrs. Docherty |
|
| 2010–present |
Downton Abbey |
Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
TV Times Award for Best Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Monte Carlo Television Festival Award for Outstanding Actress
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
| 2011 |
Gnomeo & Juliet |
Lady Bluebury |
|
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 |
Professor Minerva McGonagall |
|
| 2012 |
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel |
Muriel Donnelly |
|
| Quartet |
Jean Horton |
post-production |
- Twelfth Night, Oxford Playhouse, 1952
- He Who Gets Slapped, Clarendon Press Institute, 1952
- Cinderella, Oxford Playhouse, 1952
- Rookery Nook, Oxford Playhouse, 1953
- The Housemaster, Oxford Playhouse, 1953
- Cakes and Ale (revue), Edinburgh Festival, 1953
- The Love of Four Colonels, Oxford Playhouse, 1953
- The Ortolan, Maxton Hall, 1954
- Don’t Listen Ladies, Oxford Playhouse, 1954
- The Government Inspector, Oxford Playhouse, 1954
- The Letter, Oxford Playhouse, 1954
- A Man About The House, Oxford Playhouse, 1954
- On the Mile (revue), Edinburgh Festival, 1954
- Oxford Accents, New Watergate Theatre, London, 1954
- Theatre 1900, Oxford Playhouse, 1954
- Listen to the Wind, Oxford Playhouse, 1954
- The Magistrate, Oxford Playhouse, 1955
- The School For Scandal, Oxford Playhouse, 1955
- New Faces (revue), Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York, 1956
- Share My Lettuce (revue), Lyric Hammersmith and Comedy Theatre, 1957
- The Stepmother, St. Martin's Theatre, 1958
- The Double Dealer, Old Vic, 1959
- As You Like It, Old Vic, 1959
- Richard II, Old Vic, 1959
- The Merry Wives of Windsor, Old Vic, 1959
- What Every Woman Knows, Old Vic, 1960
- Rhinoceros, Strand Theatre, 1960
- Strip the Willow, UK Tour, 1960
- The Rehearsal, Bristol Old Vic and Globe Theatre, 1961
- The Private Ear and The Public Eye, Globe Theatre, 1962
- Mary, Mary, Queen's Theatre, 1963
- The Recruiting Officer, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1963
- Othello, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1964
- The Master Builder, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1964
- Hay Fever, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1964
- Much Ado About Nothing, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1965
- Trelawney of the Wells, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1965
- Miss Julie, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1966
- Black Comedy, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1966
- A Bond Honoured, National Theatre/Old Vic, 1966
- The Country Wife, Chichester Festival Theatre, 1969
- The Beaux Stratagem, National Theatre/Old Vic and Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, 1970
- Hedda Gabler, National Theatre/Cambridge Theatre, 1970
- Design For Living, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, 1971
- Private Lives, Queen's Theatre, 1972
- Peter Pan, London Coliseum, 1973
- Snap, Vaudeville Theatre, 1974
- Private Lives, US tour and 46th Street Theatre, New York, 1975 [Tony nomination]
- The Way of the World, Stratford, Canada, 1976
- Antony and Cleopatra, Stratford, Canada, 1976
- Three Sisters, Stratford, Canada, 1976
- The Guardsman, Stratford, Canada and Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, 1976
- A Midsummer Night's Dream, Stratford, Canada amd Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, 1977
- Richard III, Stratford, Canada, 1977
- As You Like It, Stratford, Canada, 1977
- Hay Fever, Stratford, Canada, 1977
- Macbeth, Stratford, Canada, 1978
- Private Lives, Stratford, Canada, 1978
- Night and Day, Phoenix Theatre, Washington D.C. and ANTA Playhouse, New York, 1979 [Tony nomination]
- Much Ado About Nothing, Stratford, Canada, 1980
- The Seagull, Stratford, Canada, 1980
- Virginia, Stratford, Canada, 1980 and Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1981
- The Way of the World, Chichester Festival Theatre and Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1984
- The Interpreters, Queen's Theatre, 1985
- The Infernal Machine, Lyric Hammersmith, 1986
- Coming Into Land, National Theatre/Lyttelton, 1987
- Lettice and Lovage, Globe Theatre, 1987
- Lettice and Lovage, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York, 1990 [Tony win]
- The Importance of Being Earnest, Aldwych Theatre, 1993
- Three Tall Women, Wyndham's Theatre, 1994 and 1995
- Talking Heads, Chichester Festival Theatre and Comedy Theatre, 1996
- A Delicate Balance, Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1997
- The Lady in the Van, Queen's Theatre, 1999
- The Breath of Life, Theatre Royal Haymarket, 2002
- Talking Heads, Australian tour, 2004
- The Lady From Dubuque, Theatre Royal Haymarket, 2007
- ^ Mackenzie, Suzie (20 November 2004). "You have to laugh". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,1354891,00.html?gusrc=rss. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
- ^ "Maggie Smith Biography (1934–)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/65/Maggie-Smith.html. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ Maggies Smith at Yahoo Movies.
- ^ a b c Maggie Smith biography. Tiscali.film & TV.
- ^ Maggie Smith. Film Reference.com.
- ^ It's Hello From Him!, Ronnie Barker 1988 0-450-48871-3
- ^ It's Hello From Him!, Ronnie Barker, 1988. ISBN 0-450-48871-3
- ^ Michael Coveney, "Obituary: Ned Sherrin", The Guardian (Wednesday, 3 October 2007). Retrieved at www.guardian.co.uk, 22 December 2011
- ^ Broadway International Database at broadway.com. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ Internet Broadway Database at www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ The Guide to Musical Theatre at www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ "Rob Wilton Theatricalia: Theatre World magazines, 1950s" at www.phyllis.demon.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ "Film Nominations 1958" at www.bafta.org. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ Official Website of the Annual Golden Globe Awards at www.goldenglobes.org. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ "Maggie Smith Emmy Award Winner". Emmys.com. http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/maggie-smith. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ "Viewing Page 9 of Issue 44999". London-gazette.co.uk. 1969-12-30. http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/44999/supplements/9. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ "Viewing Page 7 of Issue 51981". London-gazette.co.uk. 1989-12-29. http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/51981/supplements/7. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ "Honorary Graduates 1989 to present". University of Bath. http://www.bath.ac.uk/ceremonies/hongrads/. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001749/bio
- ^ Michael Coveney, "I'm Very Scared of Being Back on Stage", thisislondon.co.uk, 3 February 2007 [1]
- ^ Mark Lawson (31 May 2007). "Mark Lawson, "Prodigal Son", The Guardian, 31 May 2007.". London: Arts.guardian.co.uk. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/story/0,,2091828,00.html. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ "Actress Maggie Smith recounts cancer battle". Google.com. 2009-10-05. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijMyS9F4MJL_ziOQRrBup8yayqKw. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
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Awards for Maggie Smith
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- Gosford Park (2001): Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, Tom Hollander, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Northam, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Geraldine Somerville, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sophie Thompson, Emily Watson, James Wilby
- Chicago (2002): Christine Baranski, Ekaterina Chtchelkanova, Taye Diggs, Denise Faye, Colm Feore, Richard Gere, Deidre Goodwin, Queen Latifah, Lucy Liu, Susan Misner, Mýa, John C. Reilly, Dominic West, Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Noble, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Elijah Wood
- Crash (2005): Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate
- Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Rubina Ali, Tanay Chheda, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar, Madhur Mittal, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto
- Inglourious Basterds (2009): Daniel Brühl, August Diehl, Julie Dreyfus, Michael Fassbender, Sylvester Groth, Jacky Ido, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Denis Menochet, Mike Myers, Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Til Schweiger, Rod Taylor, Christoph Waltz, Martin Wuttke
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Smith, Margaret Natalie |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
English actress |
| Date of birth |
28 December 1934 |
| Place of birth |
Ilford, Essex, England |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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