Who Did Maggie Smith Play in Harry Potter?: Her Character Hollywood Life [Video]

Maggie Smith is best known for her performances in Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter films, but the late actress got her start in entertainment decades earlier. Since the news of her death broke in September 2024, fans of the English actress are heartbroken that the world has lost an icon. As we remember Maggie’s legacy in the film business, we’re looking back at which character she played in the Harry Potter franchise.

Who Was Maggie Smith’s Harry Potter Character?

Maggie played the role of Professor Minerva McGonagall. In the book and film franchise, the professor is the head of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She is also the deputy headmistress with Headmaster Albus Dumbledore at the school.

Professor McGonagall’s defining moments comes toward the end of the series in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, when she prepared the entire school for Voldemort’s …