Diana Rigg

Biography

Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969); Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013–2017); and the title role in Medea in the West End in 1993 followed by Broadway a year later. Rigg made her professional stage debut in 1957 in The Caucasian Chalk Circle and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959. She made her Broadway debut in Abelard & Heloise in 1971. Her role as Emma Peel in The Avengers made her a sex symbol. For her eponymous turn in Medea, one of which she performed in both London and New York productions, won her the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, as well as earning her the first of four career Laurence Olivier Award nominations. Rigg was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for The Hospital and a Laurel Award for The Assassination Bureau. A nine-time Emmy Award nominee, she won Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie in 1997 for her role as Mrs. Danvers in the two-part miniseries Rebecca. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress in 1990 for the BBC four-part miniseries Mother Love and, in 2000, received a special honorary BAFTA. She was appointed CBE in 1988 and a Dame in 1994 for services to drama.

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