Dame Maggie joins an amazing cast to cross over
Dame Maggie Smith has become the latest Harry Potter star to pass away since the first film was released.
The much-loved films, based on J.K. Rowling’s hugely successful books about the famous boy wizard, kicked off in 2001 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The films brought together an ensemble cast that featured some of the most biggest names in British acting.
But since the first film was released, 27 stars have passed away, with Dame Maggie Smith becoming the latest.
On Friday afternoon (September 27), Dame Maggie’s children announced her death in a statement.
They said: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September.
“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves 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 the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”
Over a career spanning seven decades, Smith became one of the most recognisable faces in British acting. But it was for her portrayal of Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films that many came to know and love the actress, as she endeared herself to a new generation. Starring in all eight of the films, McGonagall became one of the most popular characters in the films.
Her passing came on the one year anniversary of another star of the films, Sir Michael Gambon, who played Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, from 2004 to 2011.
Other Harry Potter actors to have passed away since the released of the first film include Alan Rickman, Richard Harris and Robbie Coltrane.
The Harry Potter cast that are no longer with us:
Richard Harris – Albus Dumbledore (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002)
Robert Knox – Marcus Belby (21 August 1989 – 24 May 2008)
Elizabeth Spriggs – The Fat Lady (18 September 1929 – 2 July 2008)
Timothy Bateson – Kreacher (3 April 1926 – 15 September 2009)
Jimmy Gardner – Ernie Prang (24 August 2014 – 3 May 2010)
Alfred Burke – Armando Dippet (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011)
Eric Sykes – Frank Bryce (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012)
Richard Griffiths – Vernon Dursley (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013)
Peter Cartwright – Elphias Doge (30 August 1935 – 18 November 2013)
Roger Lloyd Pack – Barty Crouch Senior (8 February 1944 – 15 January 2014)
Dave Legeno – Fenrir Greyback (12 October 1963 – July 2014)
Derek Deadman – Tom from The Leaky Cauldron (11 March 1940 – 22 November 2014)
David Ryall – Elphias Doge (5 January 1935 – 25 December 2014)
Alan Rickman – Severus Snape (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016)
Terence Bayler – The Bloody Baron (24 January 1930 – 2 August 2016)
Hazel Douglas – Bathilda Bagshot (2 November 1923 – 8 September 2016)
John Hurt – Garrick Ollivander (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017)
Sam Beazley – Professor Everard (29 March 1916 – 12 June 2017)
Robert Hardy – Cornelius Fudge (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017)
Verne Troyer – Griphook (1 January 1969 – 21 April 2018)
Paul Ritter – Eldred Worple (20 December 1966 – 5 April 2021)
Helen McCrory – Narcissa Malfoy (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021)
Robbie Coltrane – Rubeus Hagrid (30 March 1950 – 14 October 2022)
Leslie Phillips – The Sorting Hat (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022)
Paul Grant – Goblin (uncredited) (3 February 1967 – 20 March 2023)
Sir Michael Gambon – Albus Dumbledore (19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023)
Dame Maggie Smith – Minerva McGonagall (28 December 1934 − 27 September 2024)
