Emma Watson honors ‘legend’ Maggie Smith: ‘There were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own’

Emma Watson honors ‘legend’ Maggie Smith: ‘There were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own’

Watson, who played student Hermione Granger in the film series, posted a heartfelt tribute on her Instagram to the two-time Oscar winner, who died Friday morning at age 89. “When I was younger I had no idea of Maggie’s legend — the woman I was fortunate to share space with,” Watson wrote. “It is only as I’ve become an adult that I’ve come to appreciate that I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness

Smith appeared alongside Watson in seven of the eight blockbuster Harry Potter films between 2000 and 2011. Smith portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall, who taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was deputy headmistress of the school, and was the head of Gryffindor House.

The Beauty and the Beast star highlighted Smith’s strength as one of the few women in the films’ adult ensemble. “She was real, honest, funny and self-honouring,” Watson wrote. “Maggie, there were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own.”

The actress concluded her remarks with gratitude. “Thank you for all of your kindness,” she wrote. “I’ll miss you.”
Friday, Sept. 27, at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, her family announced. “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end,” her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in a statement. “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren, who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”