Topic: Acting legend Dame Maggie Smith dies at 89

[Simon]

Actress Dame Maggie Smith, known for the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89, her family has said.

A legend of British stage and screen, she won two Oscars during her career - for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and California Suite in 1979.

She had four other nominations, and received seven Bafta awards.

Leading the tributes, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Dame Maggie "was beloved by so many for her great talent, becoming a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come".

In the Harry Potter films, Dame Maggie played the acerbic Professor Minerva McGonagall, famous for her pointed witch's hat and stern manner with the young wizards at Hogwarts.

In hit ITV drama Downton Abbey, she played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, the grand matriarch who excelled at withering one-liners through the show's six series.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk7375ngkxo

[Clive]

I first saw her in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie back in 1969 and seen most of her subsequent work.    Maggie Smith.