Inside Dame Maggie Smith's bond with close family – from famous sons to five adorable grandchildren

Dame Maggie Smith sadly passed away on 27 September, leaving behind her two sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, both of whom followed in their famous mum's footsteps and entered the entertainment industry.

Maggie's bond with her sons was clear during her life and it fell to them to share the news of her passing. In a statement, the brothers said: "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."

Meet those who the legendary actress left behind and explore their close bond below…

Chris Larkin

Dame Maggie's eldest son is actor Chris Larkin, who has appeared in major shows like Doctor Who and Outlander and acted opposite stars like Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe in Valkyrie and Master and Commander respectively.

Acting was always in Chris' blood, partially thanks to his mother and he revealed one of his earliest memories was seeing her in a production of Peter Pan.

Despite his closeness with his mother, Chris shook off the family name when he started in the acting industry to avoid the associations, his father was noted theatre star John Stevens.

Chris explained to the Times in 2013: "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."

The actor has also appeared in theatre and once acted opposite his mother in The Lady from Dubuque.

Toby Stephens

Toby is the younger son of Dame Maggie and has had a successful career with some of his biggest roles being as Bond villain Gustav Graves in 2002's Die Another Day and the lead role as John Robinson in Netflix's Lost in Space.

The actress once joked she tried stopping both her sons from going into acting, explaining: "God knows, they weren't encouraged. I think they sort of fought it, but I'm glad they gave in because even with all its horrors this profession is fascinating."

Although Chris appeared opposite his mum on-stage, Toby decided against doing so. "I have a policy with my mum — we both kind of think that the family acting thing is a bit naff," he explained in 2012.

"I cringe when I see that someone obviously thought, 'Hey, we're both actors, why don't we do something together?'"

Grandchildren

Alongside her two sons, Dame Maggie was a grandmother-of-five, with Chris welcoming daughter Daisy and son Nathaniel, while Toby is a dad to Eli, Tallulah and Kura.

With both of her sons being jobbing actors, Dame Maggie often fulfilled her role as a doting grandmother hosting her grandchildren when their parents were unavailable.

Sharing an insight into how she looked after them, the actress told the Telegraph they would watch Harry Potter and she quipped: "I'm on my own, so it's lovely to be able to help my sons."

Toby was similarly as enthusiastic about Dame Maggie's grandparenting skills, telling the Mail in 2012: "She loves, really loves, being around them. She was stern with me but around them she is a real softie.

"That's the privilege of being a grandparent — they can indulge the children while parents have to be the bad guy. Grandparents can also be subversive and naughty with them. And she certainly is."

Despite her divorce from Chris and Toby's father, John Stevens, the pair remained close and Dame Maggie even took one of John's sons from after their relationship to the set of Harry Potter.