Dame Maggie Smith's remarkable career and 'intensely private' home life after death at 89

She was one of the UK's most celebrated actors.

But away from the cameras Dame Maggie Smith, who has died aged 89, lived an intensely private life. The Oscar-winning actress and Harry Potter legend passed away peacefully in hospital with her family by her side on Friday morning.

She won Academy Awards for her roles in 1969's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and 1978's California Suite. She was also Oscar nominated for 1965's Othello, 1972's Travels with My Aunt, 1985's Room With A View and 2001's Gosford Park.

READ MORE : Dame Maggie Smith - star of Downton Abbey and Harry Potter - dies in hospital

She went on to gain a huge following among fans for her role as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series and then as Violet Crawley in ITV period drama Downton Abbey. She went on to return for the spin-off films in 2019 and 2022.

But despite being the acclaim, Dame Maggie was known for being incredibly private about her life off-screen and shunned fame as she disliked the fuss of awards dos. She had never spoken of her plans to retire, with her last film - The Miracle Club - released last year and saw her star alongside the likes of Kathy Bates and Laura Linney.

Her actor son Chris Larkin said in 2016: "There's no chance of her ever going into a home. She's one of those who says, 'Take me to Switzerland if anything starts going south and I can't remember your names'."

Film critic Michael Coveney told the Mirror: "Maggie just doesn't see what's good about what she's doing most of the time. Here is a woman who lives alone in Fulham and in her country house. She loves her five grandchildren. She is truly a good apple - a Granny Smith. But she has just a handful of very close people around her, including her