Inside Maggie Smith's famous family as actor sons issue heartbroken tribute

As the nation contends with the news that Dame Maggie Smith has died, her survivors, her two sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens are mourning their beloved mother.

Before Dame Maggie became a global legend, starring in iconic roles, such as Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films and Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, here role was mum to Chris and Toby.

The actress shares the boys, both of whom are actors, with her late ex-husband Robert Stephens, and while the trio barely appeared together in front of the cameras togeter, they were closer than ever.

The late actres was a proud mother of the boys and respected their decision to create their own paths without her help.

Chris, who chose to ditch his famous last name professionally, has made a name for himself as Richard Brown on Outlander, while Toby has starred as John Robinson on the Netflix series Lost In Space.

Explaining why he chose to pursue a career without the help of his family surname, Chris previously told The Times, "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."

He also emphasised that the profession is tough, and he appreciated that his success was earned, not inherited.

Toby also revealed getting into acting wasn't an easy decision because his parents weren't fans of the idea. "My parents didn’t particularly encourage me initially. They knew how hard the profession is: just because they'd been successful didn’t mean I would," he added the publication.

"They said, 'You're on your own.' I'm really grateful: it made me get out there and hone my taste."