Maggie Smith Through The Years: Over 60 Years Of Excellency

Maggie Smith’s career in acting is the stuff of legends. The 87-year-old British actress began acting in the mid-1950s and hasn’t stopped since. Let’s look back on photos of her at the beginning of her career to see just how far she’s come both as a performer and as a person.

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Thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we haven’t seen Maggie Smith out in public too often. Thanks to her age, Smith is extra vulnerable to the deadly virus and has wisely chosen to stay away from the public over the last three years. Due to those circumstances, the most recent photos available of Smith were taken way back in 2019. She attended a few games at Wimbledon, and a few months later she rubbed elbows with Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Parker Bowles at a literacy charity function.

Most Recent Photos Of Maggie Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 11: Actress Maggie Smith attends the Royal Box during Day Ten of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Though she’s been out of the public eye during the pandemic, Smith has remained busy with work. She’s continued her acclaimed role as Violet Crawley on the British drama Downton Abbey, recently wrapping up filming on Downton Abbey: A New Era which is expected to be released on May 20th. She has also been cast in two other films, A German Life and The Miracle Club, which are in the pre-production phase.

Smith Through The Years

NEW YORK – MAY 12: (U.S. TABS OUT – HOLLYWOOD REPORTER OUT) Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the premiere of “My House In Umbria” at the Sutton Theatre May 12, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

It’s not just film and television that Smith has been involved in. Her first love was the theater, and she began her stage career at the tender age of 17 as Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse. The theater has remained a home for Smith over the decades, and her talent under the bright stage lights has brought her acclaim and awards galore.

Rubbing Elbows With Other Acting Giants

US actor and director Alan Alda with English actress Maggie Smith at the Cafe Royal, London. (Photo by Colin Davey/Getty Images)

Although her talent on the stage can not be denied, it was Smith’s talents on screen, either TV or film, which brought her international fame. She famously portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise, which endeared her to a new generation of filmgoers. Those audiences would hardly recognize photos of their beloved Professor McGonagall from when she was a young woman taking the world of theater by storm.

A Tender Moment

English actress Maggie Smith, wearing a fur coat, with her son Chris Larkin, UK, 21st April 1970. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

One of our favorite photos of Smith from that time is a candid shot of the actress with her son Chris Larkin on her lap. Though she’s wearing an extravagant-looking fur coat, she’s about as far from her stage persona as she could possibly be. It’s a tender moment between mother and son, and Smith’s glance towards the person taking the photo makes any who look at it feel like they’re part of that intimate exchange.

Young Maggie Smith

1958: Maggie Smith and George Nader star in the Ealing Studios film ‘Nowhere To Go’. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

One of the earliest photos of Maggie Smith available features the actress working alongside American actor George Nader in the 1958 film Nowhere To Go. Smith is easily recognizable thanks to her beautiful, doe-like eyes, but otherwise, it might be difficult for some to make the connection. Smith was beautiful then, and she’s beautiful now.