Downton star Maggie boasts a £ 5m fortune
ACTRESS Dame Maggie Smith has seen her wealth rocket to £ 5million at the age of 81, it emerged yesterday.
The star, who started acting in 1952, has seen her earning power soar thanks to her role as Dowager Countess Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey.
One of the show’s most popular characters, her biting one- liners are now seen all over the world with the sale of the franchise abroad.
New fi gures show Maggie’s assets shot up nearly £ 1.5million from £ 3.5million last year, making her one of the UK’s wealthiest actresses. In the past six years her assets have risen by almost £ 3million.
Maggie, who won the best actress Oscar in 1969 for The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, recently revealed that she has yet to fi nd time to see the ITV period drama, which fi nished in December after six seasons.
Asked whether she had watched her performance, she replied: “I haven’t actually seen it. But they gave me the box set. And I’m going to do all sorts of things now, because I am free.”