Maggie Smith’s latest reaction: Harry Potter and Downton Abbey fans pay tribute to acting icon

Star Trek actor George Takei paid tribute to Dame Maggie Smith as a “great star of screen and stage” after she died aged 89.

He said on X: “The star of the big screen and stage has passed away. Maggie Smith, most recently known for her unforgettable roles as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey and as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, has died aged 89. The fans old and young will miss him.

Actor Hugh Bonneville, who starred as Dame Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, paid tribute to her as “a true legend of her generation”.

“Anyone who has ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, wit and wonderful talent,” he told the BBC.

His “excellent” screen performance will live on, he added.

Popular with audiences for over 60 years, Dame Maggie gave life to many unforgettable characters, from Edinburgh girls’ school teacher Muriel Spark to Jean Brodie, in Prime from Miss Jean Brodiefor Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series and Violet Crawley in the ITV drama Downton Abbey.

Other hit films include the Sister Act franchise and Steven Spielberg Hook. During his career, Smith worked with theater stars, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Alan Bennett and Dame Judi Dench, while maintaining a prolific film and television output from the 1960s.

The actor was born Margaret Natalie Smith on December 28, 1934 in Ilford, Essex, the youngest child of Nathaniel Smith, a pathologist and laboratory technician from Newcastle upon Tyne, and Margaret Hutton, a Glaswegian secretary, who fell in love after meeting on a train to London.

Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to Dame Maggie Smith as an “icon of stage and screen”.

Writing in X, Mr. Sunak said: Very sad to hear about the passing of Dame Maggie Smith – an icon of stage and screen.

“He touched many lives across many generations with his extraordinary performances. Rest in peace.”

Born in Ilford, Essex, on 28 December 1934, Dame Maggie Smith was an internationally recognized actress during her lifetime after playing fanatical teacher Jean Brodie in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

One of Dame Maggie’s best roles was playing Professor McGonagall in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise.

And in 2010, she was central to the success of the ITV series Downton Abbey, in the Emmy award-winning role of the acerbic Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, which she continued to play in the film.

British broadcaster Gyles Brandreth has paid tribute to “amazing actress” Dame Maggie Smith after she died aged 89.

Writing in X, he said “The saddest news: the death of Dame Maggie Smith marks the end of a golden age and a life quite extraordinary.

“She is a wonderful actress, one of the best company and only the best company: wise, clever, waspish, wonderful. One of a kind in every way and irreplaceable.