Six of Dame Maggie's greatest performances

Dame Maggie Smith was 1 of Britain's best-loved and astir celebrated actresses, with a vocation spanning 8 decades.

Her archetypal performances came connected signifier successful the 1950s, and her past surface relation was conscionable a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile she starred successful The Miracle Club.

She was 1 of a prime radical of actors to triumph the treble of large US awards, with 2 Oscars, 4 Emmys and a Tony - arsenic good arsenic 7 Baftas and an honorary Olivier Award successful her location country.

Here are six of her astir best-known performances:

One of Smith’s astir iconic aboriginal roles was arsenic Desdemona successful Shakespeare's Othello.

Sir Laurence Olivier, who was playing the rubric role, offered her the portion astatine the National Theatre successful 1963.

The production, with the archetypal cast, was made into a movie 2 years later, and Smith nominated for an Academy Award for champion supporting actress.

Reflecting connected the role overmuch later, Smith told the Guardian she did the relation "with large discomfort and was terrified each the time".

Shakespeare, she added, "is not my thing".

The relation that brought Smith planetary fame came successful 1969 erstwhile she played the determinedly non-conformist teacher successful the rubric relation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

The movie was adapted from the 1961 caller by Muriel Spark, acceptable successful 1930s Edinburgh, and the quality was based connected the author's inspirational teacher.

The portion won Dame Maggie a champion histrion Oscar, and she joined co-star Robert Stephens.

Smith won captious acclaim for her relation arsenic Betsey Trotwood successful a BBC adaptation of David Copperfield astatine the crook of the century.

The portion besides brought her Bafta and Emmy nominations.

She starred alongside a young Daniel Radcliffe, who she would aboriginal enactment with again successful the Harry Potter films.

At the property of 67, a full caller procreation were introduced to the acting marvels of Dame Maggie Smith.

In 2001, she took connected the relation of Professor Minerva McGonagall successful Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Her formidable quality was successful each 8 films and she was reportedly the lone histrion that writer JK Rowling specifically asked for.

In 2007, portion moving connected Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, Dame Maggie was diagnosed with bosom crab but continued filming. She was fixed the all-clear aft 2 years of treatment.

At the aforesaid clip arsenic appearing successful Harry Potter, Smith besides starred successful different immense deed - Downton Abbey.

Between 2001 and 2015 she played Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, successful ITV's British play drama.

Her show arsenic the quick-witted matriarchal fig won her 3 Primetime Emmy awards, a Bafta, a Golden Globe and 4 Screen Actors Guild awards.

She reprised her relation of Violet successful the Downton Abbey films successful 2019 and 2022.

In the last film, her character's wellness deteriorates and she dies.

One of Smith's astir celebrated aboriginal roles was arsenic a stateless pistillate successful The Lady In The Van.

In the 2015 film, she starred arsenic Miss Shepherd, who lived successful a battered van successful playwright Alan Bennett's driveway for 15 years.

Her show successful the comedy-drama was described arsenic "terrifically good" and "magnificent" by critics. She received a Golden Globe grant and was nominated for a Bafta.

But it wasn't the archetypal clip she had played Miss Shepherd.

The histrion besides starred arsenic the pb quality successful 1999 erstwhile the play, based connected Bennett's memoir, opened successful London's West End.

Her show earned her an Olivier Award information for champion histrion successful 2000.