Diana Rigg

Diana Rigg was born on July 20, 1938 in Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, as Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg. She was the daughter of Louis Rigg, a railway engineer who worked in India, and Beryl Hilda Rigg (née Helliwell), a former actress. She spent her early childhood in India and learned to speak Hindi as her second language. She returned to England at the age of eight and attended a boarding school in Pudsey. She later studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her professional stage debut in 1957 in The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Rigg rose to fame for her role as Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965-1968), where she played a smart and stylish secret agent alongside Patrick Macnee as John Steed. She became a sex symbol and a fashion icon for her leather catsuits and mod outfits. She also starred as Tracy Bond, the only wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), opposite George Lazenby. She received a BAFTA nomination for her performance. Rigg had a distinguished career in theatre, both in London’s West End and on Broadway. She won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Medea, both in London and New York. She also played various roles in Shakespearean plays, such as Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra, and Cordelia. She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1988 and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1994 for her services to drama. Rigg appeared in numerous films and TV shows throughout her career, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Evil Under the Sun (1982), Mother Love (1989), Rebecca (1997), The Painted Veil (2006), Doctor Who (2013), and Victoria (2017). She was best known to modern audiences for her role as Olenna Tyrell, the sharp-tongued matriarch of House Tyrell, in Game of Thrones (2013-2017). She won an Emmy Award and three BAFTA Awards for her work on television. Rigg was married twice and had one daughter, Rachael Stirling, who is also an actress. She was involved in several charitable causes and humanitarian projects, such as the Heritage Foundation and the Outward Bound Trust. She was an avid reader, gardener, and animal lover. She died on September 10, 2020 at the age of 82 from lung cancer. She was widely mourned as a versatile and talented actress who left a lasting impression on generations of viewers.