Dame Maggie Smith will be remembered by younger fans for her roles in the Harry Potter movies and for Downton Abbey, but had been at the top of the acting profession since the 1960s.

Her early performances were in the 1950s but she claimed the Academy Award for best actress in 1970 for her role in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, playing a seethingly ambitious teacher on a mission to make her girls the “creme de la creme”.

In her later years, her role as the waspish Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey saw her steal many a scene, while her place in the Harry Potter world as Professor Minerva McGonagall is secure.

Dame Maggie had learned her trade the hard way with performances in her teenage years at the Oxford Playhouse.

Twice married, she leaves two sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, who have both chosen to follow an acting career.