20 Actors We Lost In 2024
16. Maggie Smith
It's not hyperbolic to say that Maggie Smith was a genuine institution in her own right, rising to prominence with feted careers on both stage and screen, for which she won two Academy Awards, five BAFTAs, four Emmys, three Golden Globes, and a Tony.
Smith enjoyed something of a career resurgence for portraying Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter series, as endeared her to a generation of younger viewers, not to ignore her wonderfully acerbic performances in the likes of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and, of course, Downton Abbey.
Few actors can profess to have had the longevity and consistency that Maggie Smith did, turning in routinely brilliant performances across an acting career lasting more than seven decades.
Maggie Smith died on September 27, 2024 at the age of 89.