The actor played the titular character in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'.

The actor played the titular character in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'.

The actor played the titular character in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'.

Legendary actor Maggie Smith known to the younger audience for her performances in 'Harry Potter' films and 'Downton Abbey' was as much a sought-after actor during her prime in the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, the actor won two Oscar awards during that period, following which, she bagged an Emmy four times and even a Tony, considered to be the highest award instituted by the New York theatre industry to actors. Here's a look at the two movies that bagged her the Oscars.

'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'
The actor played the titular character in the movie and won hearts as an Edinburgh schoolmistress in 1969. Her endearing relationship with a set of girls in the school whom she calls the Brodie girls leads to some life altering changes in her life. The actor won her first Oscar for her performance in the film.

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'California Suite'
'California Suite,' a 1978 comedy film, follows a group of people who are staying in a luxury suite. All these people have issues of their own. In the movie, Maggie Smith plays Diana Barrie, who is a first-time Academy Awards nominee for Best Actress in an Independent British film. Maggie's incredible wit and sharp performance in the movie bagged her the Oscar award for Best Supporting Actor.

Apart from these two awards, did you know she received her first Academy Award nomination for playing Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier's 'Othello' in 1965? Apart from these performances, her other critically-acclaimed roles, include Lady Bracknell in Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest' on the West End stage, a 92-year-old bitterly fighting senility in Edward Albee's play 'Three Tall Women', and her part in the 2001 black comedy movie 'Gosford Park'. In the 21st century, she won hearts with her role as Professor McGonagall in all seven 'Harry Potter' movies, and the Dowager Countess in the hit TV series and movie spin-offs of 'Downton Abbey,' a role that seemed tailor-made for an actress known for purse-lipped asides and malicious cracks.