How Maggie Smith ComfortedSister ActCostar Whoopi Goldberg When She Learned Her Mom Was on Life Support

Mar. 15, 2025

Maggie Smith, Whoopi Goldberg.Photo:Alan Davidson/Shutterstock, Monica Schipper/Getty

Alan Davidson/Shutterstock, Monica Schipper/Getty

Dame Maggie Smithwasn’t just a costar toWhoopi Goldberg. She was also a friend who, at one point, offered meaningful emotional support.

After Smith’s death on Sept. 27 at age 89, herSister Actcostar Goldberg called her both “brilliant” and “one-of-a-kind” in a heartfelt social media tribute.

Just months before, Goldberg, 68, shared apowerful storyabout how Smith’s friendship extended even beyond their time on set together in the ’90s — as she was also there for her ahead of the death of Goldberg’s mother in 2010.

Speaking with PEOPLE back in May about her memoirBits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me, Goldberg recalled the moment she learned her mother, Emma Harris, was on life support following an aneurysm. At the time, Goldberg was in London performing in the stage adaptation ofSister Actwhen she learned the news from her brother,Clyde K. Johnson.

Smith was visiting the production, Goldberg wrote in her book.

After Goldberg got the call, Smith spoke with her for five hours before she caught a flight to the hospital, where she and her bother would take Harris off of life support.

“Having Maggie Smith be there, and being able to fall apart and having her say, ‘Listen, my friend. We’ll get you through this. We’ll get you through this. We’ll get you to the hospital so you can get her. Get you back to Berkeley so you can get home,’” Goldberg told PEOPLE in May.“We were up all night, just laughing and talking about stuff,” she added. “And she had met my mom a couple of times. Just having somebody who got it, who understood, it’s everything.”

Dame Maggie Smith attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards in November 2019.David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

In her social media tribute to Smith, Goldberg briefly recalled her time working with the lateHarry Potterstar. The pair starred together in 1992’sSister Actand the 1993 sequelSister Act 2: Back in the Habit, in which Goldberg portrayed lounge singer Deloris and Smith played the memorable Mother Superior.

“Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress,” Goldberg wrote, alongside a photo of the duo on set. “I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind.'”

“My heartfelt condolences go out to the family…RIP,” she concluded.

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Other notable figures have honored the distinguished British actress following her death this week, includingKing CharlesandQueen Camilla, who released a statement on Friday.

“My wife and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dame Maggie Smith. As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances, and her warmth and wit that shone through both on and off the stage,” the King said in a statement.

source: people.com