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Dame Diana Rigg — the legendary actress with epic roles in “Game of Thrones” and the UK’s ‘Avengers’ TV series — has died.
The British actress rose to prominence in the 1961 TV series, “The Avengers,” and became a worldwide phenomenon as a Bond girl in the 1969 Bond film, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”
For the younger generation … Dame Diana, of course, earned critical acclaim for her role as Lady Olenna Tyrell in the HBO hit show, “Game of Thrones.” Sad to say … she admitted in 2019 she never watched the show, but that’s neither here nor there. Rigg earned an Emmy nomination for her role in 2018.
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.
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.
Dame Diana was 82.