Maggie Smith is widely regarded as one of the most successful actresses in the history of the entertainment industry. The Essex-born actress has been active in stage and screen productions for the better part of seven decades, despite the fact that she is best recognised for her appearances in recognisable programmes such as Harry Potter film franchise.
The role of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, that Maggie played on Downton Abbey demonstrated that she was far from finished with her acting career, just when we assumed that she was about to retire from it. Her critically acclaimed acting garnered her a total of four awards: a Golden Globe, three Emmys, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Is Maggie Smith Still Alive? Keep reading to know the truth and details of her life.
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Is Downton Abbey Star Maggie Smith Still Alive?
Maggie Smith is still alive and doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. She is working on the set of the upcoming Downton Abbey movie, which is going to be titled A New Era.
Smith had no idea that she would end up appearing in any of the Downton Abbey movies. She was of the opinion that the Dowager Countess would be too old by the time the movie rolled around for her character. Maggie disclosed to the British Film Institute that she proposed the movie begin with the funeral of the Countess: “I was firmly convinced it would start with the funeral. I could croak it. I would just start with the body. But I don’t know.”
Maggie did, in the end, agree to play a role in the movie, but as it was coming to a close, the Countess hinted that she might not be around for the next instalment. When asked by Lady Mary about the reason for her visit to London, the Countess responded, “I may not have long to live.”
“It won’t be too quick, but of course you can never get a London doctor to be precise.” Since the Countess is going to show up in A New Era, the doctor in London must have brought some encouraging news.
In spite of this, the writer of the movie, Julian Fellowes, speculated in an interview with Empire that the movie could be Violet Crawley’s final chance to shine. He said: “We should remember that at the end of the film, Maggie was by no means dead. You imagine Violet is on her way out, but that decision hasn’t been reached.”
Maggie Smith will appear on the Christmas special A Boy Called Christmas before the launch of Downton Abbey: A New Era. The film that was made for the holiday season was based on a children’s book written by Matt Haigh and published under the same name.
What Health Issues Has She Dealt With?
Smith disclosed the news that she had been diagnosed with Graves’ illness in 1988 during an interview she gave to the New York Times in the year 1990. This autoimmune disease, which is brought on by an overactive thyroid, can make it difficult for a person to see well. She was just 54 years old when she was told she had cancer, but thanks to radiotherapy and optical surgery, the actress was able to make a full recovery and live a normal life again.
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When Smith found out in 2007 that she had breast cancer, she was faced with yet another serious health problem. During the course of filming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the actress received medical treatment. During an interview with the Times in 2009, Smith provided the following explanation: “I was hairless.” “I had no problem getting the wig on. I was like a boiled egg.”
Smith has been declared cancer-free ever since he completed the treatment, which, thankfully, was effective. As far as we are aware, she is still in good health as of the present day.
Maggie Smith Net Worth
Maggie Smith is an accomplished English actress who has worked extensively in cinema, television, and stage productions. She has a net worth of $20 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Throughout the course of her career, she has made an appearance in more than sixty films and more than seventy plays. Her performance as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film franchise has brought her the lion’s share of her recognition among viewers across the world.
In June of 1967, Maggie Smith wed the actor Robert Stephens, and the couple went on to have two children together. 1975 was the year that saw the pair part ways. In June of 1975, she tied the knot with the author and dramatist Beverley Cross, and the couple stayed married until his passing in 1998.
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A Glimpse of Her Acting Career
Smith dropped out of high school at 16 to take acting classes at the prestigious Oxford Playhouse, much to her parents’ disapproval. The young actress, at the tender age of 17, made her stage debut in Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse in 1952.
Starting in the late ’50s, Smith was also a box office hit in movies. First seen in the 1958 crime picture Nowhere to Go, for which she was nominated for a British Academy Film Award, she quickly became a familiar face on the silver screen. Over the next decade, she made numerous film appearances and won her first Oscar for Best Actress in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969).
Smith’s excellent acting career included roles on television, albeit somewhat later in her life. In 1983, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work in All Is Love, and in 1993, she received her first Emmy Award nomination for her work in the PBS TV film Suddenly, Last Summer.
She went on to star in more illustrious TV productions like the BBC’s 1999 David Copperfield adaption, the HBO film My House in Umbria, and the HBO series Capturing Mary, all of which aired between 2003 and 2007.
As Violet Crawley on the hugely successful British historical drama Downton Abbey, she won her most recognised TV role to date in 2010. Smith claims that playing the matriarch of the Crawley family was one of the highlights of her career and that she had a great time working on the show.
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