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 4 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

This Is Why Banana Ball Drew 31,000 for the Series in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Harper Homers, Wheeler Strikes out 11 as Phillies Complete Sweep of Reeling Giants

DON'T MISS

Liberal Icon Bernie Sanders Is Running for Senate Reelection, Squelching Retirement Rumors

DON'T MISS

Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say

DON'T MISS

California Reports the First Increase in Groundwater Supplies in 4 Years

DON'T MISS

Fresno Charter School Wants to Increase Enrollment. But Are Its Students Lagging Their Peers?

DON'T MISS

Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Child Sex Abuse at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers Statewide

DON'T MISS

Texas Soldier Arrested in Russia on Theft Charges After Unexpected Detour

DON'T MISS

Fresno Detectives Arrest Motorcycle Club Leader on Arson, Gun Charges

DON'T MISS

Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism Awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and Others

UP NEXT

Family Fun, Community Events Highlight Cinco de Mayo Weekend in Fresno

UP NEXT

Duane Eddy, Twangy Guitar Hero of Early Rock, Dead at Age 86

UP NEXT

Less Alcohol, or None at All, Is a Path to Better Health

UP NEXT

The Summer After Barbenheimer and the Strikes, Hollywood Charts a New Course

UP NEXT

Jose Ramirez Bout, Clovis Rodeo Are Center Stage in a Weekend Crammed With Events

UP NEXT

Kate Hudson Had a Lifetime to Make a Record. The Result is ‘Glorious,’ Out in May

UP NEXT

Long-Lost First Model of USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ Boldly Goes Home

UP NEXT

How 4/20 Grew From Humble Roots to Marijuana’s High Holiday

UP NEXT

Taylor Swift Drops 15 New Songs on Double Album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’

UP NEXT

Savannah Bananas Dominate Social Media, Sell Out Stadiums Nationwide Including Fresno

Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say

9 hours ago

California Reports the First Increase in Groundwater Supplies in 4 Years

10 hours ago

Fresno Charter School Wants to Increase Enrollment. But Are Its Students Lagging Their Peers?

10 hours ago

Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Child Sex Abuse at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers Statewide

10 hours ago

Texas Soldier Arrested in Russia on Theft Charges After Unexpected Detour

11 hours ago

Fresno Detectives Arrest Motorcycle Club Leader on Arson, Gun Charges

11 hours ago

Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism Awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and Others

11 hours ago

Hamas Accepts Gaza Cease-Fire; Israel Launches Strikes in Rafah

12 hours ago

Tom Brady’s Netflix Roast Features Lots of Jabs and a Belichick-Kraft Reunion

12 hours ago

CA Limits How Police Respond to Protests. Why Were Bean Bag Shotguns Used at UCLA?

12 hours ago

This Is Why Banana Ball Drew 31,000 for the Series in Fresno

If you’re unaware of the Savannah Banana phenomenon, you must be actively avoiding social media, as the team and their rivals, the Par...

8 hours ago

8 hours ago

This Is Why Banana Ball Drew 31,000 for the Series in Fresno

9 hours ago

Harper Homers, Wheeler Strikes out 11 as Phillies Complete Sweep of Reeling Giants

9 hours ago

Liberal Icon Bernie Sanders Is Running for Senate Reelection, Squelching Retirement Rumors

9 hours ago

Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say

10 hours ago

California Reports the First Increase in Groundwater Supplies in 4 Years

10 hours ago

Fresno Charter School Wants to Increase Enrollment. But Are Its Students Lagging Their Peers?

10 hours ago

Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Child Sex Abuse at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers Statewide

11 hours ago

Texas Soldier Arrested in Russia on Theft Charges After Unexpected Detour

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend