Crossword Dictionary

diana rigg

Diana Rigg (born July 20, 1938, Doncaster, Yorkshire, England—died September 10, 2020, London), was an English actress who gained worldwide fame during the 1960s for her portrayal of Emma Peel on the television series The Avengers.

She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her professional debut in the York Festival’s production of Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1957). Joining the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), she made her first London stage appearance in 1961

In 1965 she was auditioned as a replacement for Honor Blackman in the popular British TV espionage series The Avengers (1965–67). Landing the role of agent Emma Peel, she worked on The Avengers by day while continuing to perform with the RSC at night.

Her Avengers-generated celebrity led to a thriving film career, with roles in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) and the Vincent Price horror film Theatre of Blood (1973). Still, she remained dedicated to the theatre. In 1971 she made her Broadway debut, appearing in Abelard and Heloise. Rigg’s other notable theatre credits included the London (1992–93) and New York (1994) stagings of Medea; for her Broadway performance, Rigg earned a Tony Award.

In 1973–74 she headlined her own TV situation comedy, Diana. Her later work included a hosting stint on PBS’s Mystery! anthology, a chilling Emmy-winning performance as the sinister Mrs. Danvers  Rebecca (1997), and the title role in the BBC miniseries The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries (1998–99). In the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, she played Olenna Tyrell.

Rigg was the author of No Turn Unstoned (1982), an amusing collection of negative theatrical reviews—including her own. In 1994 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).