Oscar-winning actress Dame Maggie Smith died in hospital this morning aged 89.
The British star was known for prominent roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, and her Academy Award-winning performance in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.
Her children, Widow Clicquot actor Chris Larkin, and Die Another Day star Toby Stephens, announced her death in a statement issued this afternoon.
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.
Dame Maggie Smith appears in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Dame Maggie Smith arrives for the world premiere of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in London on July 7, 2011
Dame Maggie Smith…