Tributes are pouring in for Maggie Smith, the British actress whose death was announced on Friday afternoon.
The double Oscar winner has appeared in more than 80 films in a long career spanning the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969 to her more recent roles in the Harry Potter franchise and Downton Abbey.
Many have taken to social media to pay tribute to the legendary actress, with people hailing Smith as a “British icon” and “an absolute treasure”. This Morning’s Giles Brandreth called her “one of a kind in every way and, consequently, irreplaceable”.
Smith died at the age of 89, her family reported.
To celebrate her life, here are her top 10 films, as ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.
A Room With a View, 1985 (100% rating)
Smith appeared alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis and Judi Dench in James Ivory’s Edwardian-era romance, where she played Charlotte Bartlett, Bonham Carter’s passive-aggressive aunt. Despite missing out on the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress to Dianne Wiest, her performance won the award at the Golden Globes that year.
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, 1987 (100% rating)
In this hard-hitting drama, Smith stars as the titular character, a middle-aged unmarried Irish woman who falls in love with a fellow resident of the boarding house where she lives. Winning praise from critics for her portrayal of Hearne, Smith’s portrayal led her to win the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress.
The Missionary, 1982 (100% rating)
This eccentric British comedy was directed by Richard Loncraine and saw Smith star alongside Monty Python icon Michael Palin, where she played the wealthy (and sexually forward) Lady Isabel Ames.
Nothing Like A Dame, 2018 (98% rating)
While not one of her more famous appearances, Smith’s sit down with fellow icons Dench, Eileen Atkins and Joan Plowright saw the Dames candidly discuss their film and stage careers, with both fans and critics lauding the film.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, 2011 (96% rating)
One of Smith’s most famous roles (certainly among Millennials, anyway) is her role as the stern Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise. Smith appeared in all eight films, memorably taking on Severus Snape in a high-octane duel in the franchise’s final instalment, Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Richard III, 1995 (96%)
Based on Shakespeare’s play of the same name, Smith appeared as the much-hated Duchess of York alongside a star-studded cast including Sir Ian McKellen, Annette Benning, and Robert Downey Jr.
Evil Under the Sun, 1982 (92%)
From Shakespeare to Christie, Smith played hotel manager (and former mistress of the King of Tyrania) Daphne Castle in the 1982 adaptation of the legendary crime writer’s 1941 mystery novel. She appeared on-screen alongside Diana Rigg, Jane Birkin, and Sir Peter Ustinov.
A Private Function, 1984 (90% rating)
Reuniting with Palin once again, Smith plays Joyce, the overbearing wife of a shy chiropodist, in this comedy, which is set the North of England in 1947, during the peak of post-war rationing.
The Lady in the Van, 2015 (89%)
One of her later roles, Smith received praise from critics for her performance as Mary Shepherd in this partly true comedy drama. The film follows Shepherd, who lives in a van on writer Alan Bennett’s driveway in Camden for 15 years. With her performance praised for being the driving force behind the film, Smith’s role once again won her the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress (she won the award four times throughout her career).
