Diana Rigg Biography
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is best known for playing Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers, Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones.
Diana Rigg Age
She was born on 20 July 1938 in Doncaster, United Kingdom (She is 80 years old as of 2018)
Diana Rigg Height
She stands at a height of 1,74m
diana rigg photoDiana Rigg Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth of $10 million.
Diana Rigg parents
She was born to Beryl Helliwell (mother) and Louis Rigg (father)
Diana Rigg Siblings
She has a brother Hugh Rigg
Diana Rigg Husband
She was formerly married to Menachem Gueffen, and later to Archie Stirling.
Diana Rigg Children
She was blessed with one child, Rachael Stirling
Diana Rigg Education
She attended a boarding school, Fulneck Girls School, in a Moravian settlement near Pudsey, though she hated that boarding school, at the same time believes that Yorkshire played a greater part in shaping her character than India did. She later trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where her classmates included Glenda Jackson and Siân Phillips.
Diana Rigg Film
Year |
Title |
Role |
1968 |
A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
Helena |
1969 |
Mini-Killers |
|
1969 |
The Assassination Bureau |
Sonya Winter |
1969 |
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service |
Contessa Teresa “Tracy” Draco di Vicenzo Bond |
1970 |
Julius Caesar |
Portia |
1971 |
The Hospital |
Barbara Drummond |
1973 |
Theatre of Blood |
Edwina Lionheart |
1977 |
A Little Night Music |
Countess Charlotte Mittelheim |
1981 |
The Great Muppet Caper |
Lady Holiday |
1982 |
Evil Under the Sun |
Arlena Marshall |
1987 |
Snow White |
The Evil Queen, Snow White’s evil stepmother |
1994 |
A Good Man in Africa |
Chloe Fanshawe |
1999 |
Parting Shots |
Lisa |
2005 |
Heidi |
Grandmamma |
2006 |
The Painted Veil |
Mother Superior |
2015 |
The Honourable Rebel |
Narrator |
2017 |
Breathe |
Lady Neville |
Diana Rigg Television
Year |
Title |
Role |
1959 |
A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
Bit part |
1963 |
The Sentimental Agent |
Francy Wilde |
1964 |
Festival |
Adriana |
1964 |
Armchair Theatre |
Anita Fender |
1965 |
ITV Play of the Week |
Bianca |
1965–68 |
The Avengers |
Emma Peel |
1970 |
ITV Saturday Night Theatre |
Liz Jardine |
1973–74 |
Diana |
Diana Smythe |
1974 |
Affairs of the Heart |
Grace Gracedew |
1975 |
In This House of Brede |
Philippa |
1975 |
The Morecambe & Wise Show |
Nell Gwynne |
1977 |
Three Piece Suite |
Various |
1979 |
Oresteia |
Clytemnestra |
1980 |
The Marquise |
Eloise |
1981 |
Hedda Gabler |
Hedda Gabler |
1982 |
Play of the Month |
Rita Allmers |
1982 |
Witness for the Prosecution |
Christine Vole |
1983 |
King Lear |
Regan |
1985 |
Bleak House |
Lady Honoria Dedlock |
1986 |
The Worst Witch |
Miss Constance Hardbroom |
1987 |
A Hazard of Hearts |
Lady Harriet Vulcan |
1989 |
The Play on One |
Lydia |
1989 |
Mother Love |
Helena Vesey |
1992 |
Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris |
Mme. Colbert |
1993 |
Road to Avonlea |
Lady Blackwell |
1993 |
Running Delilah |
Judith |
1993 |
Screen Two |
Baroness Frieda von Stangel |
1994 |
Genghis Cohn |
Frieda von Stangel |
1995 |
Zoya |
Evgenia |
1995 |
The Haunting of Helen Walker |
Mrs. Grose |
1996 |
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders |
Mrs. Golightly |
1996 |
Samson and Delilah |
Mara |
1997 |
Rebecca |
Mrs. Danvers |
1998 |
The American |
Madame de Bellegarde |
1998–2000 |
The Mrs Bradley Mysteries |
Mrs. Adela Bradley |
2000 |
In the Beginning |
Mature Rebeccah |
2001 |
Victoria & Albert |
Baroness Lehzen |
2003 |
Murder in Mind |
Jill Craig |
2003 |
Charles II: The Power and the Passion |
Queen Henrietta Maria |
2006 |
Extras |
Herself |
2013–17 |
Game of Thrones |
Olenna Tyrell |
2013 |
Doctor Who |
Mrs. Winifred Gillyflower |
2015 |
You, Me and the Apocalypse |
Sutton |
2015 |
Professor Branestawm Returns |
Lady Pagwell |
2017 |
Victoria |
Duchess of Buccleuch |
2015, 2017 |
Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero |
Mayor Pink Panda (voice) |
2015, 2017 |
Detectorists |
Veronica |
Diana Rigg Theatre Credits
Year |
Title |
Role |
1957 |
The Caucasian Chalk Circle |
Natella Abashwili |
1964 |
King Lear |
Cordelia |
1966 |
Twelfth Night |
Viola |
1970 |
Abelard and Heloise |
Heloise |
1971 |
Abelard and Heloise |
Heloise |
1972 |
Macbeth |
Lady Macbeth |
1972 |
Jumpers |
Dorothy Moore |
1973 |
The Misanthrope |
Célimène |
1974 |
Pygmalion |
Eliza Doolittle |
1975 |
The Misanthrope |
Célimène |
1978 |
Night and Day |
Ruth Carson |
1982 |
Colette |
Colette |
1983 |
Heartbreak House |
Lady Ariadne Utterword |
1985 |
Little Eyolf |
Rita Allmers |
1985 |
Antony and Cleopatra |
Cleopatra |
1986 |
Wildfire |
Bess |
1987 |
Follies |
Phyllis Rogers Stone |
1990 |
Love Letters |
Melissa |
1992 |
Putting It Together |
|
1992 |
Berlin Bertie |
Rosa |
1992 |
Medea |
Medea |
1993 |
Medea |
Medea |
1994 |
Medea |
Medea |
1995 |
Mother Courage and Her Children |
Mother Courage |
1996 |
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf |
Martha |
1997 |
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf |
Martha |
1998 |
Phaedra |
Phaedra |
1998 |
Britannicus |
Agrippina |
2001 |
Humble Boy |
Flora Humble |
2002 |
The Hollow Crown |
|
2004 |
Suddenly, Last Summer |
Violet Venable |
2006 |
Honour |
Honour |
2007 |
All About My Mother |
Huma Rojo |
2008 |
The Cherry Orchard |
Ranyevskaya |
2009 |
Hay Fever |
Judith Bliss |
2011 |
Pygmalion |
Mrs. Higgins |
2018 |
My Fair Lady |
Mrs. Higgins |
Diana Rigg Honours, Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | Emmy Award | Best Actress in a Drama Series | The Avengers |
1968 | |||
1970 | Laurel Award | Female New Face | The Assassination Bureau |
1971 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | Abelard and Heloise |
1972 | Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress (motion picture) | The Hospital |
1975 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | The Misanthrope |
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | ||
Emmy Award | Best Actress in a TV Movie | In This House of Brede | |
1990 | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actress | Mother Love |
Broadcasting Press Guild Award | Best Actress | ||
1992 | Evening Standard Award | Best Actress | Medea |
1994 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | |
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | ||
Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | ||
1996 | CableACE Award | Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | Screen Two (1985) – episode “Genghis Cohn” |
Olivier Award | Best Actress | Mother Courage | |
Evening Standard Award | Best Actress | Mother Courage and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf | |
1997 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf |
Emmy Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie | Rebecca | |
1999 | Olivier Award | Best Actress | Britannicus and Phedre |
2000 | Special BAFTA Award[33] non-competitive | John Steed’s partners shared with Honor Blackman, Linda Thorson, and Joanna Lumley. | The Avengers (and The New Avengers) |
2002 | Emmy Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie | Victoria & Albert |
2013 | Critics’ Choice Television Award | Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series | Game of Thrones |
Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | ||
2014 | Critics’ Choice Television Award | Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series | |
Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | ||
2015 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | |
2018 | Drama Desk Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | My Fair Lady |
Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | ||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Game of Thrones |
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Diana Rigg Latest News
Every rose has its thorn, and as the Queen of Thorns on Game of Thrones, the regal Dame Diana Rigg became a fan favorite with her first acerbic quip about cream and udders. But she had no idea her performance would draw in a new army of followers, decades after her days as a Bond girl and as Emma Peel on The Avengers.
And, no, she also doesn’t know anything about those internet memes. But she does laugh at the thought of Olenna Tyrell wearing shades while throwing shade.
“Obviously, it’s great that has happened, and great it was a young audience — terrific,” Rigg tells EW over the phone from London, looking back on her role almost a year after her final episode (and ahead of the show’s much-anticipated conclusion). “That’s the nature of my profession. The young, I don’t expect them to know about my past, but if, through Game of Thrones, they discover me, that’s good.”
When showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss looked to the dame to fill the role of Lady Olenna — once described by Cersei (Lena Headey) as “the tart-tongued” matriarch of House Tyrell — Westeros was unknown to Rigg. All she knew was that the scripts were masterfully crafted.
“I loved the complexity of Olenna,” she recalls. “She was a political woman, and she played the game brilliantly. Anything and everything executed ruthlessly for the survival of her family, which is historical in a way, like the Borgias and various other famous families.”
The trips to Northern Ireland and Croatia were an added perk. “I love locations, I love traveling,” says Rigg, having only just returned from a trip to France. “Locations, for the most part, have always been interesting. To begin with, it was Croatia, and that was wonderful because I’d never been to Croatia, and on my days off I’d do some exploring. Belfast, also, I didn’t really know. So it was an opportunity to explore these places and get to know them.”
Rigg spent a week with her castmates in Croatia to film the Purple Wedding during production on season 4. “I loved that location, it was absolutely beautiful,” she says. “I remember one early scene in which I had a huge list to learn of what my army needed in terms of food and transport. It was a great big endless list, and I remember as I learned it thinking, ‘Are they testing my memory because of my age?’ I did it in one take, so that was okay.”
Natalie Dormer, who portrayed Olenna’s granddaughter Margaery, remembers “playing a lot of Words With Friends” and “a lot of Scrabble around on iPads” during that week to help pass the time in the sweltering summer months. “Diana Rigg beat everybody,” she remembers. “I think she even beat David Benioff, and that’s saying something.
“She’s a legend,” Dormer adds. “Respect is shutting up and listening. Just that dynamic of a younger actress and someone with as much experience as Diana is what I call NAR, which is ‘no acting required.’ She’s one of the earliest feminist figures on our screen. She’s one of the original ’60s feminists.”
As Olenna, Rigg never gave veiled threats. She would say, “What veil?” The twist of her words yielded far more snaps from Thrones watchers than any twist of a knife. Then, in the third episode of season 7, she gave her final mic drop and redefined the meaning of “famous last words.”
Rigg doesn’t miss her role per se. She chalks it up to the nature of her profession: “You move on.” But she does miss her shared scenes with Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), having worked with him years earlier, notably on the 1997 British adaptation of Rebecca. The actress calls it “one of the great pleasures of the show” to be able to work with actors like Dance and Julian Glover (Grand Maester Pycelle).
“I don’t know that I’ll miss her,” Rigg says of Olenna. “I enjoyed her hugely, and I’m very grateful for the new audience that she’s brought me… I was extremely grateful that I didn’t die on the lavatory or in some rather undignified manner. It’s in the nature of this series, isn’t it, that people are dispensed with quite often? The fact that I’d been kept alive for far longer than the original author [George R.R. Martin] had intended seemed to me that I had a pretty good run for my money, and I was perfectly philosophical about being killed off.”
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