Editing Maggie Smith (section)

===2016–2024: Return to theatre and final roles ===
In 2018 Smith starred in a British documentary titled ''[[Nothing Like a Dame (film)|Nothing Like a Dame]]'', directed by [[Roger Michell]], which documents conversations between actresses Smith, [[Judi Dench]], [[Eileen Atkins]] and [[Joan Plowright]], which were interspersed with scenes from their careers on film and stage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/09/11-delightful-things-we-learned-from-tea-with-the-dames.html|title= 11 Delightful Things We Learned from ''Tea with the Dames''|first=Maggie|last=Fremont|website= Vulture|date= 20 September 2018|access-date= 27 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/10/01/651797682/tag-yourself-im-a-maggie-a-tea-with-the-dames-taxonomy|title= Review: Which Tea with the Dames Are you?|website= [[NPR]]|date= October 2018|access-date= 27 October 2020|last1= Weldon|first1= Glen}}</ref> The film was released in the United States as ''Tea with the Dames''. [[Peter Bradshaw]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' gave the film a five out of five star rating, declaring it an "outrageously funny film".<ref name="guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/apr/26/nothing-like-a-dame-review-judi-dench-eileen-atkins-maggie-smith-joan-plowright|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=Nothing Like a Dame review – Judi Dench and Maggie Smith trade brutal banter|access-date=12 December 2018|date=26 April 2018|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|authorlink=Peter Bradshaw}}</ref> Guy Lodge of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called the film a "richly enjoyable gabfest" but that the film was "hardly vital cinema".<ref name="var-review">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/tea-with-the-dames-review-1202950874/|work=Variety|title=Film Review: 'Tea With the Dames'|access-date=12 December 2018|date=21 September 2018|last=Lodge|first=Guy}}</ref> That same year, Smith reprised her role as Professor Minerva McGonagall by voicing the character in ''[[Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery]]'', a [[role-playing video game]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/harry-potter-hogwarts-mystery-game-star-maggie-smith-michael-gambon-1099961/|title= Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon to Reprise Roles for Harry Potter Mobile Game|website= The Hollywood Reporter|date= 5 April 2018|access-date= 26 August 2024}}</ref> In September 2019, a continuation of the ''Downton Abbey'' series in form of a feature-length film was in theatres entitled simply, ''[[Downton Abbey (film)|Downton Abbey]]''. The film was a financial success and earned $194.3 million at the box office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2399634945/|title= Downton Abbey|website= Box Office Mojo|access-date= 26 October 2020}}</ref> She reprised her role as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in [[Simon Curtis (filmmaker)|Simon Curtis]]'s 2022 historical-drama ''[[Downton Abbey: A New Era]]'' alongside [[Hugh Bonneville]], [[Elizabeth McGovern]] and [[Michelle Dockery]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://ew.com/movies/michelle-dockery-on-filming-that-scene-maggie-smith-downton-abbey-a-new-era/|title= Michelle Dockery on filming THAT emotional scene with Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey: A New Era|magazine= [[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date= 4 June 2024}}</ref>

In April 2019, after an 11-year absence from theatre, Smith returned to the stage in ''A German Life'' as [[Brunhilde Pomsel]] at the [[Bridge Theatre]] in London. The new work, by [[Christopher Hampton]], is a one-woman solo play. In its inaugural incarnation Smith gave an extended monologue as Pomsel, an elderly German woman who, in her youth, wound up working as a secretary for [[Joseph Goebbels]] at the [[Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|Ministry of Propaganda]]. [[Jonathan Kent (director)|Jonathan Kent]] took the directorial role. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine's theatre critic praised Smith's performance, writing, "It's a performance that combines the knowingness of hindsight with the naivety of youth, blasé enough to catch you off-guard when the magnitude of events suddenly cuts through".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2019/legit/reviews/german-life-review-maggie-smith-1203189853/ |title= London Theater Review: Maggie Smith in 'A German Life'|first=Matt|last=Trueman|magazine=Variety|date= 15 April 2019|access-date= 19 June 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210419102251/https://variety.com/2019/legit/reviews/german-life-review-maggie-smith-1203189853/ |archive-date=19 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Matt Wolf of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "[Smith's performance] represents a new high in a six-decade career with no shortage of peaks", and added "The audience knows it is witnessing something special".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/theater/maggie-smith-a-german-life.html |title= On the London Stage, 'Top Girls' and a Grande Dame|website= [[The New York Times]]|date= 18 April 2019|access-date= 19 June 2021|last1= Wolf|first1= Matt}}</ref> Her performance won her a record sixth Best Actress ''Evening Standard'' award.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Paskett |first1=Zoe |title=The 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards winners in full |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/evening-standard-theatre-awards-winners-2019-a4294246.html |website=Evening Standard |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220408174446/https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/evening-standard-theatre-awards-winners-2019-a4294246.html |archive-date=8 April 2022|date=25 November 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/evening-standard-theatre-awards-winners-2019-a4294246.html|title=Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2019: Dame Maggie Smith and Andrew Scott win top acting prizes |newspaper=[[Evening Standard]]|first=Zoe|last=Paskett |date=25 November 2019 |access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref>

In 2021 Smith starred in the [[Netflix]] adaptation of the children's book by [[Matt Haig]] of the same name, ''[[A Boy Called Christmas]]''. The film was directed by [[Gil Kenan]] and also starred [[Sally Hawkins]], [[Kristen Wiig]], [[Jim Broadbent]] and [[Toby Jones]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kristen-wiig-sally-hawkins-maggie-smith-join-a-boy-called-christmas-1202042|title= Kristen Wiig, Sally Hawkins, Maggie Smith Join 'A Boy Called Christmas'|first=Alex|last=Ritman|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date= 15 April 2019|access-date= 25 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/netflix-a-boy-called-christmas-jim-broadbent-sally-hawkins-maggie-smith-kristen-wiig-studiocanal-blueprint-1203189563/|title= Netflix Boards 'A Boy Called Christmas' With Jim Broadbent, Kristen Wiig in Ensemble Cast|website= Variety|first=Stewart|last=Clarke|date= 15 April 2019|access-date= 26 October 2020}}</ref> In 2023 Smith starred as Lily Fox in an Irish drama film, ''[[The Miracle Club]]'', with [[Kathy Bates]] and [[Laura Linney]]. The film's plot is being described as a "joyful and hilarious" journey of a group of riotous working-class women from Dublin, whose pilgrimage to [[Lourdes]] in France leads them to discover each other's friendship and their own personal miracles."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/maggie-smith-kathy-bates-laura-linney-unite-miracle-club-1298960|title= Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, Laura Linney Unite for 'The Miracle Club'|website= [[The Hollywood Reporter]]|first=Alex|last=Ritman|date= 17 June 2020|access-date= 26 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/maggie-smith-kathy-bates-laura-linney-the-miracle-club-1234638006/|title= Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linney Join 'The Miracle Club'|website=Variety|first=Naman|last=Ramachandran|date= 17 June 2020|access-date= 27 October 2020}}</ref> Smith was announced as starring in the film version of [[Christopher Hampton]]'s ''A German Life'', reprising the role she originated onstage in 2019 in London.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/global/maggie-smith-christopher-hampton-a-german-life-1234842203/|title= Maggie Smith Set to Star in Film Version of Christopher Hampton's 'A German Life' (EXCLUSIVE)|website= Variety|first=Kaleem|last=Aftab|date= 30 November 2020|access-date= 30 November 2020}}</ref>

In October 2023 Smith was revealed as one of the faces for the [[Loewe (fashion brand)|Loewe]]'s SS24 pre-collection.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/fashion/celebrity/a45624391/maggie-smith-loewe-campaign/|title= Actor Maggie Smith (aka Professor McGonagall) is the fab new face of Loewe|website= Cosmopolitan|date= 24 October 2023|access-date= 24 October 2023}}</ref>