Born on December 28, 1934, in Ilford, Essex, England, Maggie’s journey began on the West End stage, where her remarkable talent quickly became undeniable. As her career soared, she graced the film industry with unforgettable performances in movies like The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (which won her an Academy Award), and California Suite, which earned her another Oscar. Her accolades don’t stop there. She has won five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, cementing her status as one of the greatest actresses of all time. From 2001 to 2011, Smith played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies. Smith and Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid, had been requested for the film by author J. K. Rowling. Smith reunited with Daniel Radcliffe with whom she had just previously starred in David Copperfield from 1999. Smith appeared in seven of the eight films. The series was known for hiring notable British and Irish actors, including Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Julie Walters. Without inflation adjustment, it is the third-highest-grossing film series with $7.7 billion in worldwide receipts.
In 2016, while promoting The Lady in the Van, Smith shared her experiences working on the Harry Potter films and working with Alan Rickman. He was such a terrific actor, and that was such a terrific character that he played, and it was a joy to be with him. We used to laugh together because we ran out of reaction shots. They were always – when everything had been done and the children were finished, they would turn the camera around and we'd have to do various reaction shots of amazement or sadness and things. And we used to say we'd got to about number 200-and-something and we'd run out of knowing what to do when the camera came around on us. But he was a joy. In 2018, Smith starred in a British documentary titled Nothing Like a Dame, directed by Roger Michell, which documents conversations between actresses Smith, Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, and Joan Plowright, which were interspersed with scenes from their careers on film and stage. The film was released in the United States as Tea with the Dames. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film a five out of five star rating, declaring it an outrageously funny film. Guy Lodge of Variety called the film a richly enjoyable gabfest but that the film was hardly vital cinema.
In 2018, Smith reprised her role as Professor Minerva McGonagall by voicing the character in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, a role-playing video game.