Happy Birthday to the wonderful, beautiful, magical Maggie Smith!

Maggie Smith

Dame Margaret Natalie "Maggie" Smith, DBE, is an English film, stage and television actress. She has had an extensive career both on screen and in live theatre, and is known as one of Britain's pre-eminent actors.

Born: December 28, 1934 (age 78), Ilford

Awards: Academy Award for Actress in a Leading Role, More

Spouse: Beverley Cross (m. 1975–1998), Robert Stephens (m. 1967–1974)

Children: Toby Stephens, Chris Larkin

Parents: Nathaniel Smith, Margaret Hutton-Smith


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btuGt_ENgPg


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Will Daniel Day-Lewis or Maggie Smith join exclusive Oscar 3-timers club? (GOLD DERBY)

By Chris Beachum Sep 19 2012 | 18:25 pm

When Meryl Streep earned her third Oscar in February, she joined an exclusive club. Only four other people have ever won at least three Academy Awards for acting in the 84-year history of the ceremony.


It had been a long 14 years since Jack Nicholson picked up his third trophy by the time Streep received hers. It might only take one year for another person to join the ranks. Two-timers Daniel Day-Lewis ("Lincoln"), Maggie Smith ("Quartet"), and Robert De Niro ("The Silver Linings Playbook") are on the radar of Oscar voters this year.

According to Gold Derby statistics, Day-Lewis might be in the best position to prevail for his role as President Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming Steven Spielberg film. He is currently listed in first place at 7/5 as Best Actor. His previous wins were both for lead performances in "My Left Foot" (1989) and "There Will Be Blood" (2007) out of four overall nods.

Smith actually has two shots at Oscar glory this time around. In "Quartet," she has a lead role as Jean, a former opera star who disrupts her quartet's annual concert. For "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," she plays the supporting role of Muriel, a retired housekeeper who needs hip replacement surgery in India. She won a lead Oscar for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969) and one for supporting in "California Suite" (1978). Her career total is six nominations. Smith is listed at 100/1 odds for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, but the recent acclaim in Toronto for "Quartet" and the DVD release of the popular "Exotic" should begin her ascent up the predictions charts.

READ MORE: http://www.goldderby.com/films/news/3391/academy-awards-oscars-daniel-day-lewis-news-entertainment-47283195.html

Maggie Smith, of thee we sing by Susan Wloszczyna, USA TODAY

It happens about two-thirds of the way into Quartet, a wryly funny and often touching late-life aria about aged opera singers at a British retirement home that premiered last week at the just-ended Toronto International Film Festival.

Smith's nerve-racked diva is being pressured by her fellow residents to perform at their annual birthday salute to Verdi, and she has had enough of their goading. She prefaces her remark with the words, "I'm going to say something very rude," and then proceeds to let loose with a two-word utterance that begins with an F and ends with "you."

Fans of her imperiously proper Dowager Countess of Grantham on the TV sensation Downton Abbey, a role that might garner her another Emmy when the awards are announced Sunday, will have to wait to revel in that gasp-worthy moment until Quartet reaches theaters Dec. 28.

Has the 77-year-old dame ever employed that phrase before in a storied film career that includes two Oscar wins -- as the lead in 1969's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and a supporting turn in 1978's California Suite?

"Onscreen, never." She pauses. "But frequently in real life."

That the notoriously press-averse legend is seated here at an upscale eatery while waiting on a Cobb salad and sipping sauvignon blanc is a bit of a miracle.

Blame her reluctance on a "ghastly" male reporter who made her cry during her very first interview when she was starting out in the late '50s. Her friend and collaborator, Kenneth Williams, advised, "Don't do it anymore." And save for the occasional taped Charlie Rose appearance, Smith has mostly been able to avoid such grilling without any ill effect.

"The thing is, often press people ask questions that are so personal that even your nearest and dearest wouldn't ask them," she explains.

What sorts of questions? "Well," she replies. "THAT'S quite personal." She continues: "You know what I mean, things about past marriages." Given that her first of two nuptials caused a minor scandal when she had an affair with the married actor Robert Stephens and gave birth to the first of their two sons 10 days before they wed in 1967, her reluctance is somewhat understandable.

READ MORE: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/story/2012/09/16/maggie-smith-of-thee-we-sing/57790798/1

Will Maggie Smith win third Oscar for Dustin Hoffman's 'Quartet'? (GOLD DERBY)

Oscar winnerRonald Harwood ("The Pianist") adapted his play about a group of retired opera singers who reunite for one final performance. The Weinstein Co. is rolling out this performance piece, which could appeal to the academy's aging demographic, as a Christmas treat.

Hoffman handled helming duties with aplomb, helped along by the stellar cast. Two-time Oscar winner Maggie Smith ("The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," 1969; "California Suite," 1978) plays the diva at the center of the action. Oscar nominees Pauline Collins ("Shirley Valentine") and Tom Courtenay ("The Dresser") and Billy Connolly round out the foursome.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SETH203X-A&feature=player_embedded

Funny to see how young everyone looks, Maggie Smith, Brooke Shields

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbvk7__-kR0&feature=player_embedded#!

Smith, who has racked up six Oscar bids dating back to 1966, has not contended since her 2001 scene-stealing turn in "Gosford Park." That role was written by Julian Fellowes who went on to create for her the part of the doubtable Duchess in "Downton Abbey."

READ MORE:  http://www.goldderby.com/films/news/3351/dustin-hoffman-maggie-smith-quartet-downton-abbey-tiff-oscars-academy-awards-film-news-13579086.html