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Dame Maggie Smith was a British actress who worked in theatre, television and film. She made her professional theatre debut in 1956 playing Viola in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse. She made her Broadway debut in musical revue New Faces of 1956 (1956). Smith excelled in both comedy and drama performing in various works of Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Noël Coward, Edward Albee and Tom Stoppard. She received three Tony Award nominations for Private Lives (1975) and Night and Day (1980) before winning in 1990 for Lettice and Lovage . [1]
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Smith was also known for her film roles and started acting in films in the late 1950s before gaining her breakthrough film role in Othello (1965) in which she acted alongside Laurence Olivier and Michael Gambon. She won her first Academy Award for her performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). She received her second win for her role as an Oscar loser in Neil Simon's California Suite (1978). Other notable roles include Travels with My Aunt (1972), Death on the Nile (1978), A Room with a View (1986), Richard III (1995), Gosford Park (2001) and Quartet (2012). Smith also starred in the commercially successful films Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), The Secret Garden (1993) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) and its sequel. Additionally, she gained worldwide attention and acclaim for her role as Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). [2]
Smith was also known for her roles on television appearing in various programmes including, BBC Sunday Night Theatre , Theatre Royal , Play of the Week , Armchair Theatre , Play of the Month and Screen Two . She also guest starred in The Carol Burnett Show . Smith received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work in Suddenly, Last Summer (1992), David Copperfield (1999) and Capturing Mary (2010). Smith won for My House in Umbria (2003). Smith gained international acclaim for her performance in Downton Abbey (2010–2015) as the Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham. She received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations winning three times. [3]