Dame Maggie Smith dies aged 89

Dame Maggie Smith, known for her work in Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter Films, has died at the age of 89. According to the BBC, Smith's sons, actors Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, announced the news in a statement to the media on Friday morning. A cause of death has not yet been announced.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital this morning, Friday September 27th,” they wrote. “She was an extremely private person and ended up hanging out with friends and family. She leaves behind two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and tireless kindness during her final days,” the statement continued. “We thank you for all of your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

A two-time Academy Award winner, Smith has been revered for her groundbreaking roles in theater, film and television, including her Academy Award-winning roles The heyday of Miss Jean Brodie And California Suite. Smith spent nearly six decades on London's West End and Broadway, where she portrayed Oscar Wilde's Lady Bracknell and Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth, and later found favor with a new generation when she stepped into the witch's shoes of Professor Minerva McGonagall – a role she also played play would occupy a decade.

“There are times when I’m not even sure I have a real life,” Smith once said Life magazine, according to Washington post. “I know that I only feel truly alive on stage. For a certain period of time I have to become a person in whom I fully believe. I want to be someone who is truly beautiful.”

To pay homage to the late actress, we've compiled some of Dame Maggie Smith's favorite moments on and off screen.