Died at 91
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Dame Margaret Natalie Smith CH DBE (December 28, 1934 − September 27, 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in comedic roles, she had an extensive career on stage and screen over seven decades and was one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses. She received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award as well as nominations for six Laurence Olivier Awards. Smith was one of the few performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting. Smith began her stage career as a student, performing at the Oxford Playhouse in 1952, and made her professional debut on Broadway in New Faces of '56. Over the following decades Smith established herself alongside Judi Dench as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. On Broadway, she received Tony Award nominations for Noël Coward's Private Lives (1975) and Tom Stoppard's Night and Day (1979), and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Lettice and Lovage (1990). She won Academy Awards for Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and Best Supporting Actress for California Suite (1978). She was Oscar-nominated for Othello (1965), Travels with My Aunt (1972), A Room with a View (1985) and Gosford Park (2001). She portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). She also acted in Death on the Nile (1978), Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), The Secret Garden (1993), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), Quartet (2012) and The Lady in the Van (2015). Smith received newfound attention and international fame for her role as Violet Crawley in the British period drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015). The role earned her three Primetime Emmy Awards; she had previously won one for the HBO film My House in Umbria (2003). Over the course of her career she was the recipient of numerous honorary awards including the British Film Institute Fellowship in 1993, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1996 and the Society of London Theatre Special Award in 2010. Smith was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990. Description above from the Wikipedia article Maggie Smith, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
A biopic about Queen Elizabeth II. The film is split into four chapters. The first chapter, titled "The Childhood", focuses on her grandfather's (King George V) death, and her uncle's (Edward VIII) extremely short reign as King due to his abdication crisis. The chapter also follows Elizabeth's father, George VI, becoming the new King, and her childhood during World War II. The second chapter, titled "The Coronation", begins with Elizabeth's and Phillip's wedding. The birth of their children, Charles and Anne, is also addressed. The majority of the chapter focuses on Elizabeth's father's sudden death and her accession of the throne. Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II and continued turning the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations. The third chapter, titled "The Mother", fast-forwards nearly thirty years. It is 1981, and Queen Elizabeth II survives an attempted assassination while attending the Trooping the Colour ceremony. The chapter focuses mainly on her son, Prince Charles, and Lady Diana Spencer's wedding. Her grandchildren's (William and Henry) births are also addressed. The chapter also focuses on the Queen's anxious period while her other son, Prince Andrew, served in the Falklands War. Other small things like the intruder in her Buckingham Palace bedroom and her meeting with Ronald Reagan are also addressed. The final chapter, titled "The Death", is an entire chapter focusing on the death of Princess Diana in 1997. In December of 1996, Prince Charles and Diana formally separated. The Queen and her family where criticized for "outing" Diana from the family. In August 1997, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. During this time The Queen was on vacation in Balmoral. The Queen and Phillip took the grandchildren, William and Henry, to church the following morning and then kept them away from the public inside the Balmoral Castle for five days. Her Majesty's Government seemed to no pay no attention to the horrific incident, not even lowering the flag to half-mast. The Queen returned to Buckingham palace the day before Diana's funeral to address the people. After her address, most of the public's hostility evaporated. The film ends with the Royal Family standing behind The Queen while she addresses her people on her Golden Jubilee in 2002.
