Women You Should Know: Maggie Smith

Five (amazing) minutes w/ author Maggie Smith on reinvention, aging backwards, and making 2025 her very own LEAP year

The symbol of the phoenix rising, burned, and born again is one we’re intimately familiar with. Moreso if you’re a person who’s survived your own catastrophe or any manner of unplanned undoings. They happen, they’re horrible, and we’ve all been there, peering over the precipice of something NEW, unwilling to leap into the unknown–but, fuck it—LEAPING anyway.

Best-selling author Maggie Smith.

Few people have shown us how to leap and build anew—on our own terms—quite like the best-selling author/oracle Maggie Smith. After penning the blockbuster book, Keep Moving, which chronicled the years realigning herself in a new world post-divorce, she gave us a memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, another best-seller that quickly became the roadmap to reinvention we never knew we needed. We asked Maggie to be our very first Women You Should Know profile on the &Co. substack, and as part of our community here, you’re in for a treat.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful—aka the roadmap to reinvention we never knew we needed.

&Co.—How would you describe yourself? (ex. writer, stylist, creative, mother) How would your best friends describe you?

MS—We all have parts of our identities that feel important enough to name: writer and mother are two of mine. I think my friends might describe me as funny, kind, and dependable. I have a lot of long friendships, and that makes me very, very lucky.

&Co.—Where or when do you feel happiest?

MS—I feel happiest being with my children, listening to music (ideally at a live show), writing, and traveling. Adventures of any kind, especially with people I love, make me feel more alive and awake—always a good thing.

&Co.—Tell us about the best part of your morning and why? What is a non-negotiable in your morning routine, like, a daily ritual, favorite product, habit or otherwise?

MS—These days I really look forward to my morning run. Once my kids leave the house to walk to school, I hit the treadmill. Running and listening to music helps naturally boost my mood before the day has a chance to get at me—before the emails, the calls, and the growing To-Do list.

&Co.—What is the best advice you’ve received? What is the best advice you’ve given?

MS—The writer Rae Armantrout said, “My best advice is the advice they give kids at a crosswalk: stop, look, and listen.” I think that’s excellent advice not just for writing but for living: pay attention. This life is a one off, as far as we know, so we should soak up as much as we can. I give a lot of advice as a teacher and as a mom, but I think so much of it boils down to this: Be yourself. It’s incredibly simple advice that can, at times, be challenging to follow.

&Co.—What is the most freeing thing about getting older? And, what was a rude awakening that you wish you could give your younger self a heads-up about?

MS—One thing I really appreciate about getting older is the freedom. I think so many of us spent our teens and twenties—and maybe even thirties—worrying about others’ expectations and opinions, and maybe even making decisions in our lives to appease those people. It’s freeing to care less about those pressures, and to instead focus on what I want from my own life. I’m not sure I would give my younger self any warnings, though. Everything that has happened to me—even the rudest awakenings—have helped to make me who I am.

&Co.—How has taking care of yourself shifted in this stage of life? What do you make more time for and what do you try to strip back?

MS—I’m so much better at taking care of myself in my forties. I make more time for exercise, and I balance work with play, because we all need that. No one at the end of their life thinks “I should have spent more hours in the office,” but plenty of people wish they had spent more time with loved ones or traveled more. These days, self-care sometimes looks like booking the trip, buying the concert tickets, and loving more openly and without reservation.

&Co.—What does reinvention mean to you? How have you re-created yourself? How do you hope to re-create yourself in 10 or 20 years?

MS—I was introverted and risk-averse as a young person. I wasn’t adventurous at all. When I got divorced several years ago, I had to reinvent myself, my family, and my life. It was terrifying but also exhilarating, because for the first time I got to reflect on what I wanted my life to look and feel like, and then work to build that new life. I would not have guessed it when my marriage imploded, but I’m so much happier now. I’m excited about the changes ahead, too. I don’t know what my life will look like in five or ten years, and that doesn’t scare me—it excites me.

&Co.—Demi Moore said in her Golden Globes acceptance speech, “I’m not done.” How are you also not done?

MS—I feel like I’m just getting started! A friend of mine, when I turned 48 this year, texted that she thinks I’m younger now than when she met me. She said something about reverse aging. It’s funny, because I do feel in some ways younger than I did ten years ago. I’m more comfortable in my own skin, and I’m having such a good time in my life, both personally and professionally. Having fun makes you feel young.

&Co.—What is something you wish people knew about you?

MS—I published a revealing memoir, so I think people know plenty about me! I’m happy to keep some of my private life private.

&Co.—What are you looking forward to most right now?

MS—I entered 2025 believing, despite the chaos in this country, that it was going to be a year of big, beautiful changes for me. I’ve been calling it my “leap year”—a year in which I trust my intuition more and take more chances based on what that inner voice tells me. I’m looking forward to seeing what these “leaps” look like and where they land me.

&Co.—What is the simplest way you show love to yourself? To others?

MS—Being honest with myself and with others. Honesty is a form of love. It’s not always easy, but it’s simple.

&Co.—We heard you're a fan of Iris&Romeo. What products have you tried and do you have any other skincare rituals/traditions that might inspire us?

MS—I've got a lot of Iris&Romeo in my makeup bag, but my personal faves are Weekend Skin and Brow up. A tinted moisturizer with a high SPF is a must-have for me all year round, and Weekend Skin is my go-to: dewy, lightweight, and perfect for my sensitive skin.

Maggie’s edit—Brow Up & Weekend Skin.

Want to follow Maggie’s journey & more? Check out For Dear Life with Maggie Smith.