Actress Dame Maggie Smith dies at 89
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.
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.
A statement from her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said: "It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith.
"She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.
