Downton Abbey Cast Share Their Memories Of The Late Dame Maggie Smith In Touching Tributes

Tributes have begun pouring in for acting legend Dame Maggie Smith, following her death at the age of 89.

On Friday afternoon, the two-time Oscar winner’s sons issued a statement revealing the veteran performer and national treasure had died earlier that day at a hospital in London.

While Dame Maggie will be remembered for a variety of eclectic roles she played over the course of her decades-spanning career, in her later years, she was best remembered for her work in Downton Abbey.

Her performance as the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley in the hit period drama earned her no fewer than three Emmy wins, with her co-stars and colleagues among those to pay their respects on Friday.

The stars of Downton Abbey in the poster for the 2019 film
The stars of Downton Abbey in the poster for the 2019 film

Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock

Dame Maggie’s on-screen son Hugh Bonneville told Deadline: “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

“She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”

Co-star Michelle Dockery also told the outlet: “There was no one quite like Maggie. I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”

Dame Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery
Dame Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery

Jaap Buitendijk/Focus/Kobal/Shutterstock

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has also paid his respects, saying: “Maggie Smith was a truly great actress and we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career.

“She was a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking. Working with her has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her.”

Dame Maggie’s on-screen career began in the late 1950s, with the British star landing her first Oscar nomination in 1969 for a movie adaptation of Othello.

Four years later, she would land her second nomination and first win for The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, with a second Oscar following in 1979 for California Suite.

Her other notable movie roles included the comedies Sister Act and The First Wives Club, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Lady in the Van and the Harry Potter series, in which she played Hogwarts professor Minerva McGonagall in all eight films.

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Ellen Degeneres Has Released Her Latest Netflix Special And People Already Have Strong Feelings

Ellen Degeneres’ latest comedy offering has already sparked a lot of conversation, and probably not for the reasons she was hoping.

On Tuesday, Netflix unveiled For Your Approval, Ellen’s newest stand-up comedy special, which she is billing as her last ever.

The special marks a major step back into the spotlight for Ellen after the much-publicised end of her talk show in 2022, following a BuzzFeed News report featuring the accounts of nearly a dozen former employees who accused the presenter of fostering a toxic work environment on the set of her eponymous daytime series.

In the report, Ellen and executives on the show were accused of regularly making inappropriate comments about employees’ race, firing staff for taking medical leave and creating a general culture of fear within the workplace.

And while Ellen does address the controversy throughout her special, people aren’t exactly impressed with the way the subject is handled.

For Your Approval opens with a perturbed-looking Ellen surrounded by negative tweets (as they were then known) about the allegations, with one clip that’s been viewed on X almost eight million times branding the set-up “ridiculous”.

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Just what I thought. Ellen’s Sad Girl Hours.

She claims she got cancelled. But you’re not cancelled when you have a Netflix special and a Kind (lmao) Skincare Brand.

Cancel culture is not real. Stop making it a thing. https://t.co/TXGsq14J8K

— chanél aka trap wife 🫀❤️🔥 (@thetrapwife) September 24, 2024

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Just what I thought. Ellen’s Sad Girl Hours.

She claims she got cancelled. But you’re not cancelled when you have a Netflix special and a Kind (lmao) Skincare Brand.

Cancel culture is not real. Stop making it a thing. https://t.co/TXGsq14J8K

— chanél aka trap wife 🫀❤️🔥 (@thetrapwife) September 24, 2024

It’s also been pointed out that the now-deleted tweet at the centre of the montage, inviting people to share “insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean”, obscures the fact that for each one, the original user offered to donate money to an LA food bank.

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obscuring the part of the tweet that says “…and i’ll donate to the food bank” is really funny

why did ellen even feel the need to do a special at this point in her career/life https://t.co/AC7ZuXLJe7

— 12 cellphones & i look like kurt angle (@psptvs) September 24, 2024

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obscuring the part of the tweet that says “…and i’ll donate to the food bank” is really funny

why did ellen even feel the need to do a special at this point in her career/life https://t.co/AC7ZuXLJe7

— 12 cellphones & i look like kurt angle (@psptvs) September 24, 2024