Maggie Smith, Harry Potter And Downton Abbey Star, Dead At 89

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Dame Maggie Smith, the iconic British actress who won two Oscars decades before gaining new fans as the Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey" and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Friday. She was 89.

Her sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, said in a statement that Smith died early Friday in a London hospital.

She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother," they said in the statement, which was issued through publicist Clair Dobbs.

Smith was frequently rated the preeminent British woman actor of a generation that included Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench.

"Jean Brodie" brought her the Academy Award for best actress and the British Academy (BAFTA) award in 1969. She added a supporting actress Oscar for "California Suite" in 1978.

Smith was born Margaret Natalie Smith in December 1934 in Essex, England, and died in London.

Her career began at the Oxford Playhouse in the 1950s. She made her film debut in 1956 as one of the party guests in "Child in the House" (1956) and has since performed in over sixty films and television series, according to a biography provided by IMDb.

Her film roles include those in "Othello" (1965), "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969), "California Suite" (1978), "A Room with a View" (1985), "Richard III" (1995), "Tea with Mussolini" (1999), and "Gosford Park" (2001).

She was nominated for an Oscar six times and won twice, for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and" California Suite."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.