Maggie Smith, Oscar-winning star of stage and screen, dies aged 89

In a career that began in the 1950s, her roles ranged from Desdemona to Miss Jean Brodie, Virginia Woolf and Minerva McGonagall

Maggie Smith died in hospital on Friday, her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said in a statement. Picture: John Phillips/Getty Images for BFI

Maggie Smith, the prolific, multi-award-winning actor whose work ranged from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Harry Potter to Downton Abbey, has died aged 89.

Her children, Widow Clicquot actor Chris Larkin, and Die Another Day star Toby Stephens, said in a statement: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.