How Maggie Smith's beloved sons followed in her footsteps

Dame Maggie Smith's two sons followed in her footsteps by taking up careers as actors.

The British acting legend, who passed away this morning aged 89, was known for prominent roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, and her performance in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

It was her  beloved sons who broke the devastating news to the world.  

Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, praised her as an 'extraordinary mother and grandmother' in their moving tribute to the acting icon.

Their message made it clear that they remained close to their mother throughout her final days. 

And the family clearly had much in common, with both Chris and Toby going on to forge acting careers of their own - admittedly with little help from their mother in doing so. 

Maggie was close to her two children, whom she shared with first husband Robert Stephens, and five grandchildren - and the family were united in their shared love for acting. 

They wrote in a statement this afternoon: '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.

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'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.'

She was described by her sons as a 'real softie' as a grandmother, and 'really loved' being around her family.  

Her sons are famous figures in their own right.

Chris starred as Richard Brown on Outlander, while Toby played John Robinson in Netflix's Lost In Space and the title character in The Great Gatsby (2000).

He is currently starring as Greek god Poseidon in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. 

But the most famous role of all came when Toby starred as a James Bond villain in Die Another Day in 2002.  

However, it was done with little help from their famous mother.  

Toby told The Guardian in 2013: 'My parents didn't particularly encourage me initially. 

'They knew how hard the profession is: just because they'd been successful didn't mean I would.

'They said, "You're on your own." I'm really grateful: It made me get out there and hone my taste.'

But if anyone had hoped to see the family together on screen, they could think again. 

Toby, 55, certainly had no intention of working together on Downton Abbey, explaining: 'I have a policy with my mum — we both kind of think that the family acting thing is a bit naff.

'I cringe when I see that someone obviously thought, 'Hey, we're both actors, why don't we do something together?''

Maggie's elder son, Chris, was born on June 19, 1967, and chose to drop 'Stephens' from his name to forge an acting career in his own right.

Chris, 57, lives in London with his wife Suki and their children.

Despite being born into a family of actors, he only decided to take it up him in his early 20s. 

But he's clearly been successful, even joining the cast of Outlander in season five.

Maggie's younger son, Toby, was born two years later in 1969.

His parents split up when he was only four, meaning he spent much of his childhood travelling round to where his mother was working.

Toby told the Mail's Weekend Magazine in 2012: 'Growing up I went to many schools and I had to fit in to many different types of environments with totally different social groups.'

He too began an acting career, graduating from LAMDA in 1991.

 In 1994, he played the title character in the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of Coriolanus.

Despite his early promise, Toby was also known to struggle at times, previously admitting to going on 24-hour drinking benders.

He admitted: 'Giving up alcohol is the best choice I have ever made. If I had carried on drinking, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have my kids. I feel incredibly lucky.'

Stephens is the youngest person to have played a Bond villain, starring as Gustav Graves in Die Another Day.

He also won over fans as Jane Eyre's lover Mr Rochester and the evil Prince John in Robin Hood.

Toby has been married to Anna-Louise Plowman since 2001, and the couple share three children: son Eli Alistair and daughters Tallulah and Kura.

The couple met during his time at LAMDA and got together when they both went up for the same voiceover part in New York.

Speaking about Dame Maggie's role as a grandmother, he told Weekend Magazine: 'She loves, really loves, being around them. She was stern with me but around them she is a real softie. 

'That's the privilege of being a grandparent — they can indulge the children while parents have to be the bad guy. Grandparents can also be subversive and naughty with them. And she certainly is.' 

Oscar-winning actress Dame Maggie Smith died in hospital this morning aged 89.

Born in Ilford, Essex, on December 28, 1934, she was an internationally recognised actress for much of her life after playing the fanatical teacher Jean Brodie in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

She also won over Harry Potter fans later in life, when she appeared in the film series as the quick-witted, kind and formidable Professor McGonagall.

And in 2010 she was central to the success of ITV series Downton Abbey, in her Emmy-award winning role as the acerbic Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, which she continued to play in the films.

Among the first to pay tribute was her friend Gyles Brandreth , who said: 'The saddest news: the death of Dame Maggie Smith marks the end of a golden era and a quite extraordinary life.

'She was a truly great actress, 'one of the greats' and simply the best company: wise, witty, waspish, wonderful. One of a kind in every way and consequently irreplaceable.'

Inside Maggie Smith's romance with Beverley Cross: Late actress said she never got over her husband's death - after couple married 23 years following their first meeting 

Maggie Smith has passed away aged 89 years old today - 26 years after the death of her husband Beverley Cross, who she continued to grieve and speak fondly about years on.

The late actress first met the playwright when she was 18, saying that he was 'lovely' and, at 21, 'a bit older'.

He had asked her to marry him and wait while his divorce went through - but in 1967, she had married actor Robert Stephens, with whom Maggie had two sons.

It was 23 years after their first meeting that the Harry Potter star and Beverley finally tied the knot.

They were happy together until 1998, when the screenwriter passed away aged 66.

Speaking to the Guardian in 2004, Maggie - who had dreamt of him the night before - said: 'I still miss him so much it's ridiculous. People say it gets better but it doesn't. It just gets different, that's all.

'Even in my dream I kept saying to him, "You are dead. You can't be here."'

Maggie told the outlet that her and Beverley's first meeting took place on the steps of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

At the time, she was playing Viola in Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse.

The actress had also joked that it was 'entirely Bev's fault' that she ended up meeting her first husband, Robert, because he had 'made her go to the National Theatre when she had already said no'.

Maggie and Robert wed in 1967, and within two years had two sons - Christopher, 57, and Toby, 55. 

According to the actress, Laurence Olivier had warned her against a romance with the actor - who had already been married and had a child - but she found him a 'safe' choice.

Maggie admitted she didn't notice how bad her first husband's drinking was for the first few years of their marriage - and it wasn't until 1970, when he attempted to kill himself, that she noticed his issues with mental health.

'And after that it was just hopeless. We had two little boys. He didn't understand. I sure as hell didn't understand,' she said.

'It got worse and then it went on getting worse and worse. In the end it was destroying everybody. And he was having so many affairs.' 

By 1973, Maggie left as she 'couldn't go on'. Two years later, her and Beverley were married.

It was 'that lovely man' that helped her raise her two boys, as Robert didn't try to contact her or their sons after.

She once said of him: 'I'm remarkably fortunate. When you meet again someone you should have married in the first place, it's like a script. That kind of luck is too good to be true.'

However, she and Robert reconnected by the late 90s - shortly before his death in 1995 - and appeared to be on better terms.

Maggie and Beverley enjoyed their 23-year marriage, and the actress in 2016 told ES Magazine that she 'didn't think she would find anybody who could come anywhere near Bev'.

As reported by the Telegraph, Maggie was on the American talk show 60 minutes in 2013, when she was asked if she was lonely.

'It seems a bit pointless, going on on one's own and not having someone to share it with,' she replied.

People Magazine says the actress also swiftly said 'no way' when questioned about potentially finding someone else. 

The Oscar-winning actress  died in hospital this morning aged 89 after an incredible 70-year acting career.

Her death has sparked an outpouring of grief from fellow thespians and Harry Potter fans around the world, with Huge Bonneville leading tributes to a 'true legend of her generation'.