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
Judi Dench her most notable achievements with the RSC was her performance as Lady Macbeth in 1976. Nunn's acclaimed production of "Macbeth" was first staged with a minimalist design at The Other Place theatre in Stratford. Its small round stage focused attention on the psychological dynamics of the characters, and both Ian McKellen in the title role, and Dench, received exceptionally favourable notices. "If this is not great acting I don't know what is", wrote Michael Billington in "The Guardian". "It will astonish me if the performance is matched by any in this actress's generation", commented J C Trewin in "The Lady".