Maggie Smith, the venerable British actress whose career on stage, film and television spanned more than 60 years, has died. She was 89.

Her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens confirmed she had died in a statement to the Press Association.

Having appeared in more than 50 films, Smith was considered one of Britain's best-known actresses and was loved by younger generations for her roles as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films and as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey on television.

In addition to winning two Oscars, Smith also won five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, five Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Tony Award. In 1990 she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Smith was born in Ilford, Essex and moved to Oxford with her family when she was 4 years old. Her father, a public health pathologist, worked at Oxford University. Smith attended Oxford High School until she left at the age of 16 to study acting at the Oxford Playhouse.

In 1952 she made her stage debut with the Oxford University Drama Society. A decade later, she starred alongside Laurence Olivier and received her first Oscar nomination in 1965 for “Othello.”

In 1970, she won her first Oscar for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.” Another followed in 1979 for “California Suite.”

Smith appeared in various films in the 1980s and 1990s, including 1985's “A Room with a View” and the 1993 comedy “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” with Whoopi Goldberg. But in the fall of her career, she became a global star after appearing in the “Harry Potter” film series, which ran from 2001 to 2011.

In 2010, she was cast as the witty Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey, which earned her numerous awards, including three Emmys and a Golden Globe.

The actress battled and beat breast cancer while starring in the “Harry Potter” films.

From her first marriage to actor Robert Stephens she had two children, Larkin and Stephens. Smith's second husband, the playwright and screenwriter Beverley Cross, died in 1998.

Smith is survived by her sons and five grandchildren.