Acting legend Dame Maggie Smith, who died today aged 89, had spoken out about the complicated health battles she faced during the height of her career, and candidly revealed her thoughts about dying

Theatre and acting legend Dame Maggie Smith had come to grips with her mortality before her sad passing.

The Downtown Abbey star, who died today aged 89, rose to fame for her performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie back in 1969 – which landed her first-ever Oscar. She went on to become one of the UK’s biggest national treasures, immortalised for her iconic role of Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise.

Sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin announced the actress’ death, stating she passed away ‘peacefully’ in the hospital. “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,” they said in a statement. “We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Maggie had been open about her health battles, after being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 74. She says chemotherapy was a ‘hideous’ experience, arguing it made her ‘feel much worse’ than the disease itself. “I used to go to treatment on my own, and nearly everybody else was with somebody,” she recalled. “I wouldn’t have liked that. Why would you want to make anybody sit in those places?”

The diagnosis came after Maggie found a lump on her breast. She said treatment happened so fast she didn’t have ‘time to think about anything’. Thankfully, she received the all-clear from the doctors and continued her passion of acting. In fact, she filmed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince during her treatment – and joked getting the wig to fit was easy. “I was like a boiled egg,” she said, according to Tim Teeman.

Maggie was also diagnosed with Graves disease, an autoimmune disorder that can sometimes lead to serious complications including heart failure. At just 33-years-old while working on the place ‘Lettice’, the actress started to experience a slew of unusual symptoms included irritated and bulged-out eyes that created a ‘frightening’ appearance.

According to the Express, Maggie said the condition, which came after a cycling incident that broke her arm, left her feeling like she’d been in a ‘fog of despair’. She received radiotherapy and optical surgery for the condition, keeping herself out of the limelight for an entire year to recover.

These experiences left Maggie accepting her mortality. “I was relieved to be the age I was, because by now you feel like it’s all over anyway,” she bravely said back in 2009. “That’s why I hated seeing young people receiving treatment [at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London]. I couldn’t bear that, it didn’t seem fair. To be honest, you feel so ghastly you wouldn’t mind dying a lot of the time.”