Tributes were paid to legendary actor Dame Diana Rigg, following her passing.
Best known for her roles in ‘The Avengers’, ‘Game of Thrones’ and the Bond film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, she died of cancer, which was diagnosed in March.
Her acting career on stage and screen stretched out over more than 60 years. She first found fame in the mid-’60s when she was cast in ‘The Avengers’ as secret agent Emma Peel, an iconic character who was embraced as a style icon and a feminist role model. After quitting the series in 1968, she starred opposite George Lazenby in the 1969 Bond film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, in which she played 007’s wife, Countess Teresa di Vicenzo.
She later won a BAFTA TV Award for her performance as a difficult mother-in-law in the 1989 miniseries ‘Mother Love’ and an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Mrs Danvers in a 1997 adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier‘s ‘Rebecca’.
For her more recent role as cunning matriarch Olyenna Tyrell in ‘Game of Thrones’ she earned four Emmy nominations, taking her career tally to nine.
She also appeared opposite her daughter Rachael Stirling in the 2013 Doctor Who episode ‘The Crimson Horror’.
Her final movie role came in Edgar Wright‘s upcoming psychological horror movie ‘Last Night In Soho’, which is set for release in 2021.
She was also a highly revered stage actress who won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in a 1994 Broadway production of the Ancient Greek tragedy ‘Medea’. That same year, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to drama.
The Oscar-winning screenwriter and playwright Sir Tom Stoppard shared a heartfelt tribute to her, saying: “For half her life Diana 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.”
Passed away peacefully, she was 82.
