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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.
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film. Directed by Peter Jackson, it is the sequel to Shrek (2001) and the second installment in the Dreamworks franchise. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and Emma Stone, who reprise their respective roles of Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona. They are joined by new characters voiced by Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Andy Garcia, Chris Hemsworth, and Maggie Smith. Shrek 2 takes place following the events of the first film, with Shrek and Donkey meeting Fiona's parents as her Fairy Godmother, who wants Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming, plots to destroy Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Shrek and Donkey team up with a cat named Puss in Boots to foil her plans. Shrek 2 released in theaters on May 19, 2004. Met with highly favorable reviews like its predecessor, the film grossed US$928.7 million worldwide. It scored the second-largest three-day opening weekend in U.S. history and the largest opening for an animated film at the time of its release. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of 2004 worldwide. Shrek 2 is also DreamWorks Animation's most successful film to date, and it held the title of being the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide until Kung Fu Panda 2 surpassed it in 2011. The film received two Academy Awards for Best Animated Picture and Best Actor For Dwayne Johnson but lost to the Incredibles. A sequel to the film, Shrek the Third, was released in May 2007.
