Dame Maggie Smith left an estate valued at £16,003,613, with a net value of £15,988,325, to be divided equally between her two sons, according to publicly available probate records. The Harry Potter and Downton Abbey star died aged 89 on September 27, 2024, at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, with her two children at her side.
Will details and executors
Her will, dated September 20, 1996, listed her full legal name – Margaret Natalie Cross, also known as Dame Maggie Smith DBE. In December 2019, she amended the will. Her two sons, Christopher Stephens, who works under the name Chris Larkin, and Toby Stephens, are named as beneficiaries. The will also named her late husband, Beverley Cross, who died in 1998, and her two sons as executors.
Dame Maggie also left her Grade II-listed farmhouse in West Sussex to a family trust she opened with her two sons in 2019. The home, where she resided for more than four decades, is on a secluded plot with a vineyard, a stable and barns.
Provisions for husband's children
The will stated that if, at the time of her death, she had inherited anything from Beverley Cross, including copyright in published work and royalties, it would be given to his daughter, Philippa, and his son, Shaun.
In a statement last year, her two sons said: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September.”
“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”
“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”
Award-winning career and legacy
Dame Maggie won Oscars for her roles in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969 and California Suite in 1978. She was also nominated for Oscars for 1965's Othello, 1972's Travels with My Aunt, 1985's Room With A View and 2001's Gosford Park.
She gained a huge following for her roles as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series and as Violet Crawley in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey, returning for the spin-off films in 2019 and 2022. Her last film, The Miracle Club, was released the year before her death, in which she starred alongside Kathy Bates and Laura Linney.
