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Maggie Smith 85th Birthday: From Harry Potter to Downtown Abbey, 5 career defining roles of the legendary Dame
Two-time Oscar-winning actress Dame Maggie Smith has an illustrious Hollywood career to boast about. As the 85-year-old celebrates her birthday today, i.e. December 28, 2019, let's take a look at five career-defining roles of the legendary star.
It was at the tender age of just 17 when Dame Maggie Smith kickstarted her acting career. There was no looking back for the two-time Oscar-winning actress, who was made Dame by the Queen of England in 1990. Maggie is popularly known, amongst the Harry Potter fandom, as Minerva McGonagall. Minerva was the head of Gryffindor House who later became Headmistress at Hogwarts and was always a big supporter of Harry. She was also J.K. Rowling's only choice to play the role.
On the other hand, we also got to see Smith show off her witty nature in a courteous manner when she starred as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downtown Abbey, which lasted for eight seasons and also had a film adaptation released in 2019. Her other memorable roles include Othello (1965), A Room with a View (1985) and Gosford Park (2001), all of which, Maggie received Oscar nominations for. Maggie is only one of the six actresses to win the Oscar in both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress category for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and California Suite (1978) respectively.
Check out Maggie Smith's five career-defining roles below:
Jean Brodie - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
Maggie's emotionally restrained performance as a teacher at a girl's school in the Ronald Neame directorial is a masterclass in acting for young up and coming actors. It comes as no surprise that Smith won her first Oscar for this memorable role.
Augusta Bertram - Travels with My Aunt (1972)
It's Maggie's energetic personality of playing a woman twice her age that makes Augusta Bertram such a tantalisingly witty character. She truly stands out in the George Cukor directorial.
Diana Barrie - California Suite (1978)
In the Herbert Ross directorial, Maggie plays British actress Diana Barrie, who is nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for the very first time, in the midst of a failing career while being married to a closeted gay antique dealer Sidney Cochran (Michael Caine). While the review for the movie as a whole is mostly mixed, Smith's performance was very much appreciated.
Minerva McGonagall - Harry Potter Franchise (2001-2011)
In what could be considered as her most beloved character to date, Maggie brought to life Minerva McGonagall and was an instant fan-favourite. It's also interesting to note that Smith was battling with breast cancer in 2008 when she was filming for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). Such is the power of Maggie Smith!
Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham - Downton Abbey (2010-2015, 2019)
Another memorable role, Maggie showed off her wit and wisdom combination when she played the eldest Crawley - Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham - in Downtown Abbey. It's the dry humour that really gets you cackling out loud and none of the family members can escape the wrath of Violet's sarcasm. We also got to see Maggie reprise the role in the film adaptation of Downtown Abbey, which released in 2019.
Which is your favourite Maggie Smith character? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
Happy Birthday, Dame Maggie Smith!
