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 her first Emmy Award for the 2003 TV film "My House in Umbria". On stage, she starred as Madeleine Palmer, opposite Judi Dench, in the David Hare play "The Breath of Life" in 2002, toured Australia in Alan Bennett's "Talking Heads" in 2004, and starred in "The Lady from Dubuque" in 2007. Beginning in 2010, Smith appeared as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the British period drama "Downton Abbey". This role won her a Golden Globe Award and two Emmy Awards. In 2014, the role also won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2012, she played Muriel