Maggie Smith earned three Primetime Emmy awards for her role as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in all six seasons of the British period drama Downton Abbey. She also reprised her role in the two Downton Abbey films. The legendary actor died Friday at the age 89.

"We were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career," Julian Fellowes said in a statement.

Downton Abbey” creator and writer Julian Fellowes has paid tribute to the late Maggie Smith, who passed away on Friday at the age of 89. While the most famous collaboration between Smith and Fellowes may have been on the plush,

Maggie Smith, who died Friday at the age of 89, earned three Primetime Emmy awards for her role as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in all six seasons of the British period drama Downton Abbey.

Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar and starred in “Downton Abbey” and the Harry Potter films, died at 89.

Maggie Smith, the British actress who made an indelible impression on viewers in a multitude of roles including the sharp-tongued Dowager Countess of Grantham in “Downton Abbey,” has died. She was 89.