at a statement, her children Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said they were “devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother” and that she passed away on Friday at a hospital.
In their homage, the King and Queen referred to her as a “national treasure” and said they will always remember “her many great performances, and her warmth and wit.”
Dame Maggie, who was born in Essex in 1934, rose to prominence as an actress on a global scale and was regarded as one of her generation’s most talented, accomplished, and painstaking actresses. She was the recipient of multiple honors, including two acting Oscars and six BAFTAs.
In more recent times, she gained admiration from a fresh audience by portraying Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films and Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, on Downton Abbey.
“I am deeply grateful for the work in [Harry] Potter and indeed Downton [Abbey], but it wasn’t what you’d call satisfying,” she subsequently said to ES Magazine. I didn’t think I was behaving in those situations.”
She was described as having “a fierce intellect, a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant, and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny” by Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe.
