Her 1990s stage roles included Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of being Earnest" in 1993, the Elder Tall Woman in Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women" in 1994, which won her a fifth Evening Standard award. In 1997 Smith played Claire in another Albee play, "A Delicate Balance" opposite Eileen Atkins. In 1999, Smith played the title role (known as Miss Shepherd) in Alan Bennett's stage play that in 2015 was filmed: "The Lady in the Van". She won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for the 1999 film "Tea with Mussolini", in which she played Lady Hester. In 1999, Smith starred in the BBC television adaptation of "David Copperfield" alongside Daniel Radcliffe. Smith portrayed Betsey Trotwood for which she received a British Academy Television Awards nomination.