Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
'Avengers' and 'Game of Thrones' Star Diana Rigg Dies at 82
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
September 10, 2020

Share

LONDON — Diana Rigg, a commanding British actress whose career stretched from iconic 1960s spy series “The Avengers” to fantasy juggernaut “Game of Thrones,” has died. She was 82.

Photo of British actress Diana Rigg and actor Anthony Hopkins
FILE – In this Sept. 20, 1972 file photo, British actress Diana Rigg and actor Anthony Hopkins attend the opening night of Macbeth at the National Theatre, London. Rigg plays Lady Macbeth opposite Hopkins’ Macbeth in the Shakespearean tragedy. (AP Photo/Bob Dear, File)

Rigg’s agent, Simon Beresford, said she died Thursday morning at home with her family. Daughter Rachael Stirling said she died of cancer that was diagnosed in March.

Rigg “spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter and a deep pride in her profession. I will miss her beyond words,” Stirling said.

Rigg starred in “The Avengers” as secret agent Emma Peel alongside Patrick McNee’s bowler-hatted John Steed. The pair were an impeccably dressed duo who fought villains and traded quips in a show whose mix of adventure and humor was enduringly influential.

Rigg also starred in 1969 James Bond thriller “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” as Tracy di Vicenzo, the only woman ever to marry, albeit briefly, Agent 007. Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said Rigg was “much beloved by Bond fans for her memorable performance.”

George Lazenby, who made his only appearance as Bond in the film, said on Instagram that he was “so sad to hear of the death of Diana Rigg. She undoubtedly raised my acting game when we made On Her Majesty’s Secret Service together in 1968-9.”

Photo of Diana Rigg in 2018
FILE – In this Sunday, June 10, 2018 file photo, Britain’s Diana Rigg arrives at the 72nd annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

In later life, she played Olenna Tyrell — the formisable “Queen of Thorns” — in “Game of Thrones,” receiving an Emmy Award nomination for the role.

Other television roles included the Duchess of Buccleuch in period drama “Victoria,” and Rigg starred alongside her daughter in the gentle British sitcom “Detectorists.”

Rigg spent several years in the 1960s as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and combined screen work with a major stage career, in plays including William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage” and Tom Stoppard’s “Jumpers” at the National Theatre in London.

She had several acclaimed roles in the 1990s at London’s Almeida Theatre, including Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and the title role in Greek tragedy “Medea.”

Sean Connery's replacement as James Bond, George Lazenby is pictured with British actress Diana Rigg.
FILE – In this Jan. 10, 1969 file photo, Sean Connery’s replacement as James Bond, George Lazenby is pictured with British actress Diana Rigg. The two are captured during takes of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” at Schilthorn near Muerren, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Bob Dear, File)

Rigg won a Tony Award for “Medea” on Broadway, and was nominated on three other occasions — most recently in 2018 for playing Mrs. Higgins in “My Fair Lady.”

Jonathan Kent, who directed Rigg in some of her great stage roles, said her “combination of force of personality, beauty, courage and sheer emotional power made her a great classical actress — one of an astonishing generation of British stage performers.”

She never retired. One of Rigg’s final television roles was in rural veterinary drama “All Creatures Great and Small,” which is currently running on British television.

Stoppard said Rigg was “the most beautiful woman in the room, but she was what used to be called a Trouper.”

“She went to work with her sleeves rolled up and a smile for everyone. Her talent was luminous.”

Rigg is survived by her daughter, son-in-law Guy Garvey — lead singer of the band Elbow — and a grandson.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

DON'T MISS

Tulare County’s Colvin Fire Ignites With 80 Personnel on Scene

DON'T MISS

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

DON'T MISS

Trump Says US Forces Bombed Iran Nuclear Sites, Says ‘Fordow Is Gone’

DON'T MISS

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

DON'T MISS

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

DON'T MISS

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

DON'T MISS

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

DON'T MISS

Mahmoud Khalil Vows to Resume Pro-Palestinian Activism After Release From US Jail

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Wants to Fund More Trade Schools. Just Not These.

UP NEXT

Amazon’s Prime Day 2025 Levels Up With Four Days of Deals Starting July 8

UP NEXT

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

UP NEXT

Hips Don’t Lie, and Neither Do Ticket Sales: Shakira Adds Fresno Show

UP NEXT

Canseco, Cheechoo to Sign Autographs When Chukchansi Cuts Ribbon on Top Golf

UP NEXT

Netflix Set to Launch Third Themed Venue in Las Vegas

UP NEXT

‘GTA VI’ Delay Weighs on Global Videogame Market Growth, Data Shows

UP NEXT

Protester Killed at Utah ‘No Kings’ Rally Was Fashion Designer From ‘Project Runway’

UP NEXT

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

UP NEXT

The Best Songs of 2025, So Far

UP NEXT

A Starter Pack for Aspiring Wine Lovers

Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Israel’s Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way

19 hours ago

Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’

19 hours ago

Oil to Open Higher as US Strikes on Iran Boost Supply Risk Premium

20 hours ago

US Strikes Against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says

20 hours ago

US Bombing of Iran Started With a Fake-Out

20 hours ago

Pakistan Condemns Trump’s Bombing of Iran a Day After Nominating Him for Peace Prize

20 hours ago

World Awaits Iran’s Response After Trump Says US ‘Obliterates’ Nuclear Sites

20 hours ago

Mariska Hargitay Comes to Terms With a Lifetime of Family Secrets

21 hours ago

Mysterious Ancient Humans Now Have a Face

21 hours ago

World Leaders React to US Attack on Iran

1 day ago

Advisory Warns of ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ in US After Iran Strikes

WASHINGTON  -An advisory from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned on Sunday of a “heightened threat environment in the Uni...

19 hours ago

A "No war on Iran" banner is held as people attend an anti-war demonstration in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 21, 2025. (Reuters File)
19 hours ago

Advisory Warns of ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ in US After Iran Strikes

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as they are flanked by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and members of Turkish and Iranian delegations, during the 51st Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Istanbul, Turkey, June 21, 2025. (Reuters File)
19 hours ago

Muslim Countries to Set up Contact Group to Seek Israel-Iran De-Escalation

19 hours ago

Visalia Police Seek Public’s Help in Sexual Assault Investigation

President Donald Trump speaks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves following a meeting in the White House, in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt)
19 hours ago

Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Israel’s Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way

Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. (Reuters File)
19 hours ago

Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’

An oil tanker is being loaded at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia May 21, 2018. (Reuters File)
20 hours ago

Oil to Open Higher as US Strikes on Iran Boost Supply Risk Premium

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing at the Pentagon, after the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear facilities, during the Israel-Iran conflict, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., June 22, 2025 in this still image taken from handout video. Reuters TV/U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
20 hours ago

US Strikes Against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says

A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran June 22, 2025. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Handout via REUTERS
20 hours ago

US Bombing of Iran Started With a Fake-Out

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend