Inside Maggie Smith’s famous family as actor sons issue heartbroken tribute

As the nation contends with the news that , her survivors, her two sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens are mourning their beloved mother.

Before Dame Maggie, who has passed away at age 89, became a global legend, starring in iconic roles, such as Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films and Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, here role was mum to Chris and Toby.

The actress shares the boys, both of whom are actors, with her late ex-husband Robert Stephens, and while the trio barely appeared together in front of the cameras togeter, they were closer than ever.

The late actres was a proud mother of the boys and respected their decision to create their own paths without her help.

Chris, who chose to ditch his famous last name professionally, has made a name for himself as Richard Brown on Outlander, while Toby has starred as John Robinson on the series Lost In Space.

Explaining why he chose to pursue a career without the help of his family surname, Chris previously told The Times, “There are lots of people whose parents are in the business who might say, ‘Yes, I got my big break because of who my parents are.’ Great.

“The challenge is to sustain it. And if you’re not good, you’ll be found out.”

He also emphasised that the profession is tough, and he appreciated that his success was earned, not inherited.

Toby also revealed getting into acting wasn’t an easy decision because his parents weren’t fans of the idea. “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,” he added the publication.

“They said, ‘You’re on your own.’ I’m really grateful: it made me get out there and hone my taste.”

Here’s a close-up look at the lives of the late legend’s two boys

Chris Larkin, 57

Chris was born, Chris Stephens on June 19, 1967. Despite choosing to distance himself professionally from his parents he was immensely proud of them.

Speaking with The Times in 2013, he said, “I wasn’t going to trade on my father’s name, so I dropped ‘Stephens’ and became Larkin.”

He also credited both his parents with influencing his acting career and recalled seeing his mother on the West End stage as one of his earliest and most notable memories of her.

He told Broadway.com, “I remember going with my brother to see mum play Peter Pan… It was freezing because there were power cuts, and they had turned off all the heating.”

Chris started acting later than expected, enrolling at LAMDA in his early twenties. He joined Outlander in season 5 and currently lives in London with his wife, Suki, and their children.

Toby Stephens, 55

Toby, born April 21, 1969, also pursued a successful career.

Despite assumptions based on his accent and Dame Maggie’s illustrous career, Stephens has often insisted that he didn’t come from a privileged background.

“I remember my parents being really on me about speaking in a certain way when I was young,” he told Radio Times in 2015, adding that his schooling was “fairly second rate.”

After graduating from LAMDA in 1991, Stephens quickly landed significant roles, including the title character in Coriolanus with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He later gained fame as the youngest actor to play a Bond villain in Die Another Day.

Toby and his wife, Anna-Louise Plowman, have three children and have worked together in the play Private Lives.

In 2018, he starred in Lost In Space, where he explored the complex nature of his character John Robinson. Speaking to SYFY WIRE, he said, “What I like about the way John Robinson is developing is that although he’s kind of a masculine stereotype… he’s having to adapt to living with his family again.”

In a statement issued via their publicist, Chris and Toby 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, September 27.

“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.”

The actress’s career has spanned more than 70 years. She first appeared on stage in 1952.