Maggie Smith Brief Biography

Dame Margaret Natalie "Maggie" Smith, (born 28 December 1934) is a British film, stage and television actress. She made her stage debut in 1952 and has had an extensive, varied career in stage, film and television spanning over sixty years. Smith has appeared in over 50 films and is one of Britain's most recognisable actresses.

She first drew praise for the crime film Nowhere to Go (1958), for which she received her first BAFTA Award nomination. Her 1965 film role as Desdemona, in William Shakespeare's Othello, earned her an Academy Award nomination (the first of her six) and a Golden Globe nomination. Since then Smith has worked consistently in film, television and stage, establishing herself as one of the most respected British actresses. Her most notable films include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Travels with My Aunt, Murder by Death, California Suite, Death on the Nile, Evil Under the Sun, A Private Function, A Room with a View, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Gosford Park and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. She has also appeared in a number of widely popular films, including Clash of the Titans, Hook, both Sister Act films, and as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the highly successful Harry Potter film series. She currently stars in the critically acclaimed drama Downton Abbey as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, for which she has won a Golden Globe and two consecutive Emmy awards.

Maggie Smith News

• 'Downton Abbey: A New Era' movie trailer explores Violet's "mysterious past"
• 'Downton Abbey' movie trailer shows Crawleys preparing for royal visit
• Celebrity birthdays for December 28: Sienna Miller, David Archuleta, John Legend, Maggie Smith, Denzel Washington, Noomi Rapace, Joe Manganiello, Seth Meyers,
• The Almanac for December 28, the 362nd day of 2017