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Dame Maggie Smith

Dame Margaret Natalie “Maggie” Smith: born December 28, 1934 (Capricorn)

Fiesty Maggie Smith has acted for 60 years

Spirited Maggie Smith is a veteran performer of stage, film and television with more than 60 years of acting under her belt. Smith is most famous for playing the crusty but loveable Countess Violet on Downton Abbey, but her other most famous role in recent times is the formidable Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series. Dame Maggie is an Emmy award winning actor, but she also earned an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1969 in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Maggie Smith’s impressive list of friends includes another grande dame of film, Judy Dench. They often work together and have also worked with each other’s children. Maggie worked with Finty Williams in Gosford Park and Dench worked with Toby Stephens in Die Another Day.

In 2008, Maggie Smith survived breast cancer. She had a tumor removed and underwent chemotherapy. Fans of Dame Maggie Smith can rest assured that this feisty actress will be around for a good many more years.

Smith is magic in Harry Potter

Downton Abbey costs an average of one million pounds per episode to produce.

As of 2013, Downton Abbey is the highest rated PBS "Masterpiece" drama series of all time, seen by an estimated 120 million viewers in 200 countries and regions.

Gillian Anderson reportedly turned down the part of Lady Cora Grantham.

The real estate that "plays" Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle, has been the home of the Carnarvon family since 1679. In 1922, George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, co-discovered the Tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. On the show, the names of the Earl of Grantham's beloved dogs, Isis and Pharaoh, are nods to the real castle's connection to Egyptian history.

According to Julian Fellowes, the parts played by Hugh Bonneville, Brendan Coyle and Maggie Smith were written for the actors.

It was reported that Steven Waddington auditioned for the part of Bates.

When Downton Abbey first aired, Julian Fellowes (creator and producer) was annoyed at the media for pointing out anachronisms like TV aerials and the use of the word 'boyfriend'. (The word 'boyfriend appeared in print in 1889, long before the period setting of Downton). Fellowes said "they think to show how smart they are by picking holes in the program to promote their own poshness and to show that their knowledge is greater than your knowledge". In a later article coinciding with the start of the second season, Fellowes apologised and commented "I behaved rather badly by getting the hump."

Dame Maggie Smith

Downton Abbey Trivia

Hunks of Downton Abbey

Extras

Shirley Maclaine Interview