Screen Rant

Maggie Smith in her iconic role as Professor McGonagall throughout the Harry Potter series.

What does the death of an eighty-nine-year-old woman mean to a seventeen-year-old girl?

In an announcement issued by her two sons, the esteemed actress Dame Maggie Smith “passed away peacefully in hospital” on September 27, 2024. 

When a classmate shared this news, I, admittedly and ashamedly, did not recognize the name Maggie Smith. “Professor McGonagall,” my classmate clarified. 

With that, my heart broke a little. 

Smith boasts five BAFTAs, four Emmys, three Golden Globes, two Oscars, and one Tony  to her name. However, for the majority of her acting career—which started at just seventeen years old as Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night—she went unrecognized. 

It was not until Smith reached her seventies, when her time as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies came to an end and her life as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey began, that she garnered the level of stardom she so deserved—even if it was unwanted.

In a rare 2013 interview, Smith’s interest-level in fame was questioned, in which she responded, “Absolutely none. I mean, why would I?”

It is an introverted tune that Smith has marched to for the entirety of her life. Back in 1979, she said of acting, “I’m always very relieved to be somebody else, because I’m not sure at all who I am or what indeed my personality is.”

The “somebody else” that Smith affectionately spoke of was most often a world-weary, evolved woman. The New York Times offers that “although Smith was in her early 20s when she appeared in her first movie and made her London stage debut, it could reasonably be argued that she was never an ingénue.” In fact, Smith herself once reflected, “I can’t remember when I last appeared in modern dress.”

Even if they tended to be older in age, Smith found her sense of self through the sharp-witted, formidable, and elegant woman she portrayed. I hold special respect for these character traits because they are ones I myself was tasked to portray last fall as none other than Smith’s character in the Harry Potter series, Professor McGonagell during Dowling Catholic’s parody production Puffs.

By adopting her shrill voice, her commanding presence, and her adept blend of humor with authority, I feel that I know Smith more intimately than the common mourner. Even more, I feel confident that Smith’s life is immortalized in characters like Professor McGonagell, and her legacy is sure to continue through the modern interpretations of these timeless characters. 

For this reason—whether you recognize her as Professor McGonagall or Dowager Countess Violet Crawley or from her many award-winning performances—Dame Maggie Smith lives on in the hearts of all her admirers, no matter what age we are.