**Diana Rigg (star of the original Avengers and more lately, Game of Thrones) dies at 82**

[hlthe2b]

I loved her turn on GOT and remember fondly my Mom speaking of her role in the Avengers. RIP, Ms. Rigg

Obituaries
Diana Rigg Dies at 82

The acclaimed actress, who starred in the original The Avengers and opposite James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, also won online favor and acclaim later in life with her delicious turn as Lady Olenna Tyrell on Game of Thrones.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/09/diana-rigg-dead

Dame Diana Rigg, the only woman to ever marry James Bond and one of the more delightful political animals on Game of Thrones, died on Thursday at age 82, the BBC reported. No cause of death was immediately given.

Born in Doncaster, England in 1938, Rigg’s fame all but exploded in 1965 when she was cast as Emma Peel on the British spy series The Avengers. The show, which began airing in the United States during Rigg’s debut season, launched her to global recognition thanks to the witty repartee she shared with costar Patrick Macnee (and her form-fitting attire).

“Becoming a sex symbol overnight shocked me,” Rigg said in a 2019 interview. “I didn’t know how to handle it, and I kept all the unopened fan mail in the boot of my car because I didn’t know how to respond and thought it was rude to throw it away. Then my mother became my secretary and replied to the really inappropriate ones, saying: ‘My daughter’s far too old for you. Go take a cold shower!’”

Rigg starred on The Avengers for three years, but her time on the show wasn’t without conflict. After finding out she was being paid less than one of the cameramen on the series, she fought for pay equality during a time when the entertainment industry at large was not having those conversations. “That was my first battle with male authority,” she said in a 2019 interview with Variety. “I made a bit of a song and dance about it and demanded more. I was ahead of the game, in that respect, because nobody backed me up. There was no sisterhood. In those days, you were on your own.”

BTW ... her Bond role was pretty historic. She played Tracey Bond ... James Bond's wife. She was the only Bond girl to ever get him to the altar, never mind the character was killed shortly after the wedding.

In "The Avengers," she played the incredibly desirable Emma Peel and earned an Emmy nomination in 1967 and 1968.


https://www.tmz.com/
Rigg, who grew up in India after her father accepted a job there, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her acting debut in "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" at the 1957 York Festival. She'd later join the Royal Shakespeare Company and earned several roles but perhaps none more important than as Cordelia in the touring production of "King Lear."

Dame Diana was a highly-respected stage actress ... earning a Tony Award nomination for her role in "Abelard and Heloise." She'd later join the National Theatre Company ... earning a second Tony nomination for her role as Celimene in "The Misanthrope."

She finally won a Tony Award in 1994 for Best Actress for her role in "Medea." That same year, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her work in drama at the 1994 Birthday Honours.

Rigg had already been made a Commander of the order of the British Empire at the 1988 New Year Honours.

[Sherman A1]

1. Sad

[BeyondGeography]

2. Best tv intro ever

[Blecht]

3. Rigg

[jayfish]

4. Emma Peel...

was the subject of a Jeopardy answer last night. Strange happenings.

[mcar]

5. Adored her in The Avengers

I was a young girl when I started watching it. I'd never seen a female character like that on TV before - sexy, smart, and kickass.

[DarthDem]

6. RIP

She was absolutely beautiful and enthralling as Teresa "Tracy" in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I didn't watch too much of GOT but I understand her turn as Olena Tyrell was quite memorable.

(Rigg, BTW, not Riggs, in case you want to change your thread title, OP.)

[GoneOffShore]

7. She was amazing!

That's two giants of the entertainment industry lost in two days - Ronald Harwood was the other.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Who was not entranced by Emma Peel back then? I knew she was too old for me, but...

who cares about such things when Emma is the strength and beauty behind John Steed.

RIP Diana. You will be remembered well.

[niyad]

9. Requiescat in pace, Ms. Rigg. You were a true inspiration.

[unc70]

10. Saw her in London in Medea

An exhausting, scary performance.