Maggie Smith Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (born 28 December 1934) is an English actress. She has had an extensive, varied career on stage, film, and television, spanning over 66 years. Smith has appeared in over 50 films, and is one of Britain's most recognizable actresses. A prominent figure in British culture for six decades, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990 for services to the performing arts, and received the Companion of Honour from the Queen in 2014 for services to drama. Smith began her career on stage as a student, performing at the Oxford Playhouse
Maggie Smith actress to receive the honour, after Sybil Thorndike (1970) and Judi Dench (2005). In 1971, Smith was conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by University of St Andrews. In 1986, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from the University of Bath. In 1995, Smith received an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from the University of Cambridge. In October 2017, Smith was conferred with an Honorary Fellowship of Mansfield College, Oxford. She was awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Hamburg Alfred Toepfer Foundation in 1991. Smith was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition