Dame Diana Rigg, an actress most known for her roles in a number of major entertainment franchises, has died at the age of 82. She is survived by daughter Rachael Stirling, who says that Rigg passed away from a cancer diagnosis she received in March.
“She spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter, and a deep pride in her profession,” said Stirling.
Dame Rigg had portrayed a handful of iconic characters over the course of her career. By current audiences, the actress was most known for playing Olenna Tyrell in “Game of Thrones.” It was a role for which she earned Emmy nominations three years in a row: 2013, 2014, and 2015. She also portrayed the Duchess of Buccleuch on ITV’s “Victoria,” as well as Mrs. Pumphrey on Channel 5’s “All Creatures Great and Small.”
The actress’s work in the 1960s is what really shot her to stardom, however. Dame Rigg played Emma Peel in the 1960s British spy television show “The Avengers” alongside Patrick Macnee. In 1969, she jumped to the big screen in the James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” In it, Rigg played Countess Teresa di Vicenzo (“Tracy”), the only woman to ever get married to the iconic 007.
Rigg also won an Emmy for her role as Mrs. Danvers in the 1997 television adaptation of “Rebecca,” a serial miniseries about a woman who discovers her new husband’s house is haunted by his late wife. She received nine nominations in total, including once in 1975 for her role in “In This House of Brede” and again in 2002 for her part in “Victoria & Albert.” In 1990, Rigg also won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her role on “Mother Love.”
Rigg wasn’t only lauded for her on-screen work, though. She also received four Tony nominations, winning Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of the titular role in a 1994 production of “Medea.”
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