BREAKING: Maggie Smith, the two-time Oscar-winning actor best known for playing Professor McGonagall in “Harry Potter” and the Dowager Countess on “Downton Abbey,” has died at the age of 89, her publicist says. Details here

Maggie Smith, the two-time Oscar-winning actor best known for playing the stern Professor McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” movie franchise and the tart-tongued Dowager Countess on “Downton Abbey,” died Friday, her publicist and children confirmed.

She was 89.

Smith’s sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, paid tribute to their mother in a joint statement. “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning,” they wrote.

“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,” Larkin and Stephens wrote. They did not immediately specify a cause of death.

Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess Grantham in “Downton Abbey.”Nick Briggs / PBS
Smith, who started her professional acting career in the 1950s, won Academy Awards for her performances in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969) and “California Suite” (1978).

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Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess Grantham in “Downton Abbey.”Nick Briggs / PBS
Smith, who started her professional acting career in the 1950s, won Academy Awards for her performances in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969) and “California Suite” (1978).

This is a breaking news story. Please refresh for updates.