Died at 91
female
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.
Prologue in the form of text from an ornately decorated book explained that the Evil King, who cares only for being "the strongest one of all", is jealous of the strength of his stepson, Snow White. He dresses him in rags and forces him to become a scullery page in his castle. Each morning, he consults his magic mirror, asking it who is the strongest of all. It tells him that he is, and for a while, he is content. One morning, the Mirror tells the King that there is a page stronger than him: Snow White. Meanwhile, Snow White is in the courtyard, singing "I'm Wishing" to himself as he works. A beautiful princess, riding by the castle, hears his voice and is enchanted by it. She climbs over the castle wall, unseen by him, who is singing to his reflection at the bottom of a well. She joins in, which startles and surprises him; he runs indoors, but when she pleads for his to return he comes to the balcony and listens as she sings "One Song" to him. Unseen by both, the King watches from his window high above. Infuriated at Snow White's strength (and perhaps jealous for the Princess's affections), he closes the curtains in anger. The Princess smiles at Snow White before leaving.
