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Maggie Smith

British actress (1934–2024)

  • Fame72.3
  • Momentum13.6
  • Wikipedia215.7K
Source-basedRising
Lived 1934–2024, aged 90United Kingdom
United Kingdom flagUnited KingdomActorsActor
  • Wikipedia
    92 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1934–2024
    Aged 90
  • Known for
    Harry Potter and the P…
    2001
Summary
Updated 2026-08-30

She made withering intelligence look easy across seven decades — sharp enough to win two Oscars, then sharp enough again to become the internet's favorite dowager countess at 75.

Biography

About

Smith started on stage at Oxford in 1952 and reached Broadway four years later. By 1969 she'd claimed her first Academy Award for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, playing a charismatic Scottish schoolteacher with surgical precision. A second Oscar followed in 1978 for California Suite. She split the decades between classical theatre — National Theatre, RSC, a Tony win for Lettice and Lovage in 1990 — and a film career that ranged from Gosford Park to the entirety of Harry Potter, where she played Minerva McGonagall with clipped severity. Then came Downton Abbey in 2010, and Violet Crawley's acid…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith
said
I tend to head for what's amusing because a lot of things aren't happy. But usually you can find a funny side to practically anything.
— "You have to laugh", The Guardian (20 November 2004)
Maggie Smith
said
I wanted to be a serious actress, but of course that didn't really happen.
— "You have to laugh", The Guardian (20 November 2004)
Maggie Smith
said
It's true I don't tolerate fools but then they don't tolerate me, so I am spiky. Maybe that's why I'm quite good at playing spiky elderly ladies.
— "You have to laugh", The Guardian (20 November 2004)
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Deep cuts

Filmography

Low confidence
Deep cuts

TV credits

Low confidence
Deep cuts

Awards

Low confidence
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
  • Bodley Medal
  • Companion of Honour
  • Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
  • Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Rising
72.3
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum13.6
Historical31.8
Now attention41.8
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Global rank
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Country rank
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Category rank
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Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence