Dame Maggie Smith, ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Downton Abbey’ star, dies at 89
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
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 beloved by recent generations for her roles as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films and the Dowager Countess of Grantham on television’s Downton Abbey.
In addition to winning two Academy Awards, Smith earned five BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Tony Award. In 1990, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Amy Adams explores the transformative experience of motherhood in the new filmNightbitch as an artist turned stay-at-home mom who starts developing some canine-like abilities as she struggles to regain her sense of self.
The actress, who also produced the film, was initially drawn to the magical realism of the source material — the 2021 novel by Rachel Yoder.
“One of the things that really spoke to me was Rachel’s unique perspective,” Adams tells ABC Audio. “And not only that it was a tale of a woman who we call Mother, but of a relationship, of parenthood, of community. It just had so many themes that are very valuable to me in exploring.”
The themes also resonated with director Marielle Heller, who wrote the screenplay shortly after giving birth to her second child — a process she calls cathartic. “I was working out the exact things that were happening in my day into the script,” she says.
As for teaming up with Adams, Heller says, “I loved how much she trusted me and just went with the process and was willing to be vulnerable and really intimate. And let me just get right up in her face and film all aspects of her.”
That includes the scenes where Adams had to literally act like a dog — from barking to shoving her face into a meatloaf. She says she relished sinking her teeth, so to speak, into the animalistic parts of the role.
“There was definitely a lot of conversations, a lot of running ‘barks’ by Marielle to make sure I was the right tone for the size of dog that would be playing me, and working on the physicality,” she says. “But a lot of it was just so much fun to just sort of unleash that side of myself that is so grounded in play.”
Judge Arun Subramanian ruled to deny bail for Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday.
Both federal prosecutors and Combs’ attorneys submitted their final letters about whether the music mogul should be allowed out on bail on Monday.
Prosecutors argued that Combs’ attempt to influence witnesses while in jail “constitutes obstruction” of his criminal case. They also called out Combs’ “recent efforts to influence the jury pool” through a social media campaign organized by his children.
Defense attorneys said that their client’s conduct was protected free speech, meant to combat “outrageous claims about Mr. Combs” by “government agents, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and others with questionable motives.”
Subramanian had asked the parties to submit these final arguments in writing and said he would issue a written decision on bail.
Combs, who pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and prostitution charges, has offered to remain on home confinement in a three-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side with 24/7 security guards and restrictions on visitors and communications.
Last Friday, the defense called the proposed conditions “far more restrictive” than Combs faces in jail.
They included limiting phone calls to lawyers, restricting visitors other than lawyers and specific family members, keeping a visitation log, and avoiding contact with witnesses or potential witnesses.
However, federal prosecutors have said there are no conditions that can reduce Combs’ risk of tampering with witnesses or shaping the opinions of potential jurors.
They also brought up a 2016 video of Combs attacking then-girlfriend and protégé Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway, saying that it showed the danger he could pose to women if allowed out on bail.
In court last Friday, prosecutors summarily said that Combs “cannot be trusted” to follow the rules of a pretrial release.
