Dame Maggie Smith leaves behind a massive legacy after her death aged 89. The legendary actress dominated the stage and screens large and small on both sides of the pond for nearly 70 years. She won two Oscars, five BAFTAs, four Emmys and a Tony over the course of many decades in which she never stopped working and never stopped stealing scenes. She was a generational talent who meant something different to each generation: one of the faces of the British invasion of Hollywood in the ’60s; a theater legend; character actress; comedic gem; and everyone’s favorite assistant headmistress of the wizarding school. Smith worked until almost the end, including as a supermodel for a Loewe 2023 campaign.

But it was the bitingly funny Dowager Duchess who shaped the final years of her illustrious career and made her one of the most popular TV stars of the 2010s.

“Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellowes’ historical drama, ran for six seasons (plus two films) between 2010 and 2015. The ITV/PBS update to the Upstairs Downstairs format focused on the stately home of the upper-class Crawley family in the USA in the early 20th century. As Britain endured a period of massive social upheaval marked by war and political change, the series depicted the last glory days of the aristocracy and the servants who remained loyal to it. “Downton Abbey” was a huge success, receiving 27 Emmy nominations after its first two seasons and becoming one of the most successful British TV exports in years. The large cast of British character actors, including Dan Stevens and Michelle Dockery, became stars, but it was Smith who gave the series its breakthrough.

The role of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, the grand matriarch of the manor, was in many ways a standout role for Maggie Smith. “Downton” reunited Smith and Fellowes after her Oscar-nominated work in “Gosford Park,” where she played Constance, Dowager Countess of Trentham, an insufferable snob who nonetheless cracked the funniest jokes and wielded her class privilege like a scalpel. Both Duchesses were made of the same cloth, although Violet had a softness about her that Constance did not have. She was very decorative, uninterested in modernity and had a strong drive to secure her family’s status. Although she had no time for social change or Americans – perhaps her greatest nemesis – she remained true to the Grantham name and ready to be the ultimate battleaxe in their honor.

The Dowager Duchess also got the best jokes. Smith was an accomplished comedic actress who rivaled the likes of Carol Burnett and Whoopi Goldberg and starred in Neil Simon and Noel Coward plays. When she delivered a one-liner, it landed with laser-like precision, and Julian Fellowes always gave her the most memorable funny moments on Downton Abbey. She never lost her sophistication, even when hurling insults that could end in death (“Don’t be defeatist, my dear, that’s very bourgeois.”) in a show that often got soapy and leaned a little too heavily into its uncritical delivery amorous When it comes to gentility, you can always count on Smith to cut through the trash with the right quote (“What’s a weekend?”).

But she was no mere snob. Smith, like every British national treasure on the acting scene, was used to playing grumpy old crones who stare at the world and drink heavily. This is the default mode for many actresses over 60. Where Smith’s performances shone in this limiting form, and what made her appearance on Downton Abbey so enduring, was her refusal to be the butt of the joke. She was always there, albeit with a masterful approach. There was also an undeniable warmth. Even at her bitchiest, the Dowager Duchess’s devotion to her family was clear to see. Her memories of her past, both good days and bad, were always moving. Moreover, she did so without falling into easy sentimentality.

Smith was a famously candid woman who brooked no nonsense (see her appearance in the documentary Nothing Like a Dame, where she entertains the camera with her candid anecdotes about working with Laurence Olivier and fighting Judi (Dench for the best Roles.) If a character was going to be emotional, she had to earn it, and she made it seem earned because of her decades of training and acting skills, even if she wasn’t blamed for being at has saved some screenplays a lot of effort.

Funnily enough, Smith admitted on The Graham Norton Show that she had never seen Downton Abbey, but when you’re that good at a show, do you really have to? Perhaps the countless trophies she won for the series blocked her view of the television. Smith won three Emmys and five SAG Awards for her efforts. Violet Crawley experienced her last hurrah in the 2022 film “Downton Abbey: A New Era” when she died surrounded by her family and servants. Her portrait was placed in the entrance hall to forever watch over her many descendants as they moved on to a brave new world.

Dame Maggie Smith was a once-in-a-lifetime talent whose career cannot be summed up in a single obituary. Entire essays could be written about her most popular roles and the works that made her one of the defining actresses of 20th century theater. But it’s a testament to her skill and versatility that she turned a potentially dull supporting role in a historical soap opera drama into one of many iconic performances in her repertoire.

Downton Abbey was just one arrow in a crowded quiver, but her indelible work on it reminded the world that she was a true star. At a time when even some of the best actors’ careers are coming to an end, she received another thrust into the spotlight and remained there until her final days.

What more could you want from a grand dame?

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