Breast cancer, Graves' disease and glaucoma

Maggie Smith, the Oscar-, Emmy- and Tony-winning actress known for her roles in “Downton Abbey,” the “Harry Potter” film series and “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” has died at the age of 89.

In a statement, Smith's sons confirmed that she died on Friday, September 27, 2024.

How did Maggie Smith die?

Smith died in a London hospital. No cause of death was given.

“She leaves behind two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” Smith’s sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said in a statement released by publicist Clair Dobbs.

Although her cause of death is unknown, Smith revealed details about her health throughout her 60-year career, including a diagnosis of breast cancer and Graves' disease. Here's what she shared.

Maggie Smith was diagnosed with Graves' disease

In 1988, just as Smith was beginning her role in the Tony-nominated play “Lettice and Lovage,” she was diagnosed with Graves' disease, a condition in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland for unknown reasons, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland overproduces thyroid hormone.

Symptoms include irritability, tremors, fatigue, heart palpitations, skin discoloration and a change in the shape of the eyes – a symptom Smith experienced at age 54. “Medication and determination enabled her to stick out her year-long contract (she missed only one performance), but the resulting facial disfigurement—particularly bulging eyeballs and swelling around the eyes—did not improve,” The New York Times reported in 1990.

The diagnosis came shortly after Smith broke his arm and shoulder in a fall from a bicycle during a trip to the British Virgin Islands in November 1988. After the play aired, Smith isolated himself for a year. During this time, she underwent radiation, surgery to correct the shape and swelling around her eyes, and rehabilitated her arm by swimming.

“It was actually kind of a fog of despair,” Smith told the New York Times. “It was terrible having a broken arm; terrible with the piece, letting everyone down; And on top of that, I looked absolutely terrifying and didn’t know which way to turn.”

She was diagnosed with breast cancer

While Smith was filming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth installment in the series, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She felt a lump in her breast but wasn't worried at first. “I had a bit of a feel for it. I didn't think it was anything serious because I had felt a lump years ago that was harmless. “I also assumed that would be the case,” Smith told the British newspaper The Times.

“It kind of takes the wind out of your sails and I don’t know what the future holds, if anything. I don't think there's much of it because of my age – there just isn't. That's all been. I have no idea what will be there.”

For two years, Smith underwent treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation. She called the treatment “disgusting” and said it felt worse than cancer. “You feel terribly ill. I held on to the railing and thought, 'I can't do this,'” she added.

She wore a wig on the set of Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter. “I was hairless. I had no problem putting the wig on. I was like a boiled egg,” she remembers. For the next two and final films in the series, Smith said she plans to “stumble through.”

When it came to returning to the theater, however, she felt differently. “(Cancer) devastates you so much. I'm not sure I could go back to theater work, even though film work is more tiring. I'm afraid to work in the theater now. I feel very insecure. I haven’t done it in a while,” she said.

She was also open about how her diagnosis and treatment devastated her. “I think it’s because of the age I was when it happened. It throws you to the side. You need longer to recover, you are not as resilient. I’m afraid of the amount of energy it takes to act in a film or a play.”

After two years of treatment, she was declared cancer-free, the BBC reported.

She underwent hip replacement surgery

According to the Los Angeles Times, Smith missed the 2016 Golden Globes Awards, where she was nominated for her work in “The Lady in the Van,” because she was recovering from hip surgery.

“I’m feeling a lot better, but you can’t sit on a plane that long,” Smith said.

She had glaucoma in one eye

Although Smith did not reveal when she developed glaucoma, she confirmed that her vision was affected in a 2016 interview with The Telegraph. “Forgive me for looking at you like that. That’s because I’m blind in one eye and I’m not secretive,” she told the interviewer.