According to The New York Times, it is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the distinguished British film and television actress, Diana Rigg, at the age of 82.
While most audiences of the current generation know Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell in eighteen episodes from the popular Game of Thrones (2011-19) fantasy series, her career began, and is known most, much before that role. Her first real break was in the classic cult British television spy show The Avengers (1961-69), alongside actor Patrick Macnee who portrayed the lovable John Steed. The two fought dangerous crime, often in unusual and silly ways. Rigg was Macnee’s second partner, the lovely yet deadly Mrs. Emma Peel, replacing actress Honor Blackman, who starred as Mrs. Cathy Gale (Pussy Galore from the 007 film Goldfinger (1964)). Including her own replacement later, Linda Thorson as Tara King, Diana Rigg was Steed’s longest running partner, starring in the series for three years.
If you’re a Bond girl you remain immortal in that way, and Diana Rigg also had that honor in the 007 flick On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), portraying the beautiful Tracy starring alongside George Lazenby in his solo outing as British agent James Bond. Rigg might just be one of the more memorable of Bond’s ladies however, because she was not a typical throwaway romance; she was (SPOILER ALERT) the one who stole James Bond’s heart, enough to marry him at the end of the film, right before her shocking demise in arguably one of the most heartbreaking endings in film history. There is something so special about her performance that she earns this author’s ranking of favorite Bond girl (or Bond woman, if you prefer). To date, the film is regarded as the one of the best Bond films ever.
Another notable performance was alongside Charles Grodin (Beethoven (1992), The Heartbreak Kid (1972)), and our little Muppet friends Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy in The Great Muppet Caper (1981) as the successful fashion designer Lady Holiday, who seems to keep getting robbed of her precious jewels.
Diana Rigg also starred in films such as Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun (1982), Julius Caesar (1970), The Painted Veil (2006), and Breathe (2017). Besides The Avengers (1961-69) and Game of Thrones, Rigg also made television appearances in Victoria (2016), Detectorists (2014-17), Doctor Who (2005-), Avonlea (1990-96), and You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015).
Diana Rigg was nominated for one Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in The Hospital (1971). Her last credited role of the present date according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) was in two episodes as Mrs. Pumphrey in the recent PBS series All Creatures Great and Small (2020-). However, her last role yet to be released is as Miss Collins in Edgar Wright’s (Baby Driver (2017), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)) upcoming Last Night in Soho, to be released on April 23, 2021, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy (Split (2016)) and Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit (2019)). The film is in post-production, so it is most likely her filming was completed. It is unknown whether her last credited role of her career as Mother Dorothea in the short series Black Narcissus will be seen to fruition however, as no release date is yet attached. Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2008)) and Jim Broadbent (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)) are also mentioned to co-star.
I urge anyone who has not seen any of Diana Rigg’s work to jump on the ball, especially OHMSS (the nicknamed Bond film) and The Avengers series from the 1960s. She was a beautiful talent who will be greatly missed, but her legacy in the James Bond franchise and the world of British cinema and television is undaunted. Rest in peace, lovely lady.
