Dame Maggie Smith

British stage and film actor, particularly noted for her comedy performances. Born in Ilford, Essex,rift gold she trained at the Oxford Playhouse School before making her début as a comedian in the New Faces Revue in New York City (1956). By 1959 she had turned to acting, joining the Old Vic Company before winning an Evening Standard Award for the double bill of one-act plays, The Private Ear and The Public Eye by Peter Shaffer (1962). Smith has an incredible stage presence, classical poise, and impeccable comic timing, all of which have led her to critical success in countless comedy performances in London and New York, including Amanda in Private Lives (1972) and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest (1992), two roles she has virtually reinvented. Smith’s repertoire has also extended to classical theater, including Desdemona to Othello played by Sir Laurence Olivier (1964). In 1994 she won an Evening Standard Award, her fifth,rift gold for Three Tall Women by Edward Albee.

She has also enjoyed a successful film career, winning Academy Awards for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and California Suite (1978). Other films with Smith include Quartet (1981), A Private Function (1984), A Room with a View (1985, for which she won a Golden Globe Award), The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987), Sister Act (1992), The Secret Garden (1993), The First Wives Club (1996), Tea with Mussolini (1999), Gosford Park (2001), and the Harry Potter movie series.