Dame Diana Rigg, Tony-Winning Star of Stage and Screen, Dies at Age 82

Diana Rigg, a celebrated actress with a career spanning stage roles in drama and musical comedy and screen roles on film and television, has died at the age of 82.

"She died peacefully early this morning. She was at home with her family who have asked for privacy at this difficult time," her agent confirmed to the BBC.

A native of South Yorkshire, England, Rigg made her professional stage debut in 1957 with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art's staging of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, continuing her stage career by joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959, appearing in numerous productions with the troupe through 1964.

Rigg was Tony-nominated for each of her four appearances on Broadway, as Heloise in Abelard & Heloise (1971), Célimène in The Misanthrope (1975), Mrs. Higgins in My Fair Lady (2018) and winning the Tony for playing the title role in Medea (1994), a performance which also earned her an Olivier Award nomination in London's West End.

Highlights of Rigg's London stage résumé also include Olivier-nominated turns as the title role in Mother Courage and Her Children in 1996, Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1997 and 1999 repertory stagings of Britannicus (as Agrippina) and Phedre (as Phaedra), as well as acclaimed performances as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth in 1972, Phyllis Rogers Stone in Follies in 1987, Violet Venable in Suddenly, Last Summer in 2004 and Judith Bliss in Hay Fever in 2009.

On screen, Rigg played Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1968, Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lady Holiday in The Great Muppet Caper in 1981 and Arlena Marshall in Evil Under the Sun in 1982. She was honored with the BAFTA TV Award as Best Actress for BBC's Mother Love in 1989 and an Emmy Award for her turn as Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca in 1997.

Rigg also received Emmy nominations for playing Emma Peel in The Avengers (1967-1968), Philippa in In This House of Brede in 1975, Baroness Louise Lehzen in Victoria & Albert in 2002 and her more recent turn as Lady Olenna Tyrell on Game of Thrones (2013-2018). She also earned a Golden Globe nod for her turn as Barbara in the motion picture The Hospital in 1972.

For her services to drama, Rigg was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1988 and a Dame in 1994.

In advance of her final Broadway turn as Mrs. Higgins in My Fair Lady, Rigg played the role in Pygmalion (the play on which the musical is based) in a 2011 production at London's Garrick Theatre. Earlier in her career, she portrayed the central role of Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion at London's Albery Theatre in 1974.

"Having played Eliza—it was such a long time ago that it's completely different now," Rigg told Broadway.com in a 2018 interview. "I mean, the attitude toward women has changed mightily. And so I played Eliza in my time for my time, and the time has changed, and Lauren [Ambrose] is playing it for her time now. As to Mrs. Higgins, I've played her twice. It's a lovely part; it's a supporting part. She supports Eliza when not everybody is doing so. And it's not just because she's sympathetic, it's because I think she's emancipated. She's a pretty emancipated woman herself."

Rigg was married and divorced twice, to Menachem Gueffen and Archie Stirling; she is survived by her daughter, actress Rachael Stirling, and grandson, Jack.