5 Things You Never Knew About Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg was born on July 20, 1938, and throughout her 82 years (she passed away from lung cancer on September 10, 2020), she built a legacy that stretched from Shakespeare to Game of Thrones. For some, she’ll always be Emma Peel in The Avengers, the spy who kicked down for women to star on action and crime shows. Others remember her as the only woman to ever marry James Bond. There are also those who discovered her later in life, as the sharp-tongued Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones.
In honor of her birthday, here are five fun facts about her:
1 She auditioned for The Avengers on a whim and had never seen it
Everett Collection
When Rigg stepped into the role of Emma Peel on The Avengers, she had no idea she was about to become an international sensation. In fact, she hadn’t even watched a single episode of the show before auditioning. She tried out on a whim, got the part and ended up redefining what it meant to be a female spy on television. Despite the show’s success, she only stuck around for two seasons. Rigg later revealed she felt underpaid and unsupported, especially when fighting for equal pay. She famously held out for a raise from about £150 to £450 a week and still left after feeling alienated by the production.
2 She was the only Bond girl to ever become Mrs. James Bond
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While many actresses have played love interests to 007, Rigg was the only one who actually got Bond to the altar. In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), she played Tracy di Vicenzo, the strong-willed woman who captured Bond’s heart and became his wife. George Lazenby played Bond in his only appearance as the character. The marriage was tragically short-lived, as Tracy was killed shortly after the wedding in one of the most emotional endings in the franchise. Rigg took the role partly to raise her profile in the U.S., but the performance remains one of her most beloved.
3 She broke theater boundaries by appearing nude onstage in 1971
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In the early ’70s, Rigg made headlines again, this time for her work in theater. She starred alongside Keith Michell in Abelard and Heloise, a play about a doomed romantic and intellectual partnership from the Middle Ages. The production caused a stir when the two actors appeared nude onstage, something virtually unheard of at the time. The performance earned her a Tony nomination and solidified her reputation as a fearless and versatile actress. She would go on to win a Tony in 1994 for Medea, a role she later called one of the greatest challenges of her career.
4 She never watched Game of Thrones (even though she stole every scene)
Miya Mizuno/FX/Everett Collection
Rigg’s portrayal of Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones introduced her to a whole new generation of fans. Witty, ruthless and always one step ahead, her character quickly became a fan favorite. Rigg earned multiple Emmy nominations for the role and delivered some of the show’s most unforgettable lines, including her iconic final words, according to AV Club, “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.” But in true Rigg fashion, she admitted in 2019 that she never watched a single episode of the series — not even the ones she was in.
5 She once sued two newspapers — and won big
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In 2003, Rigg took on the Evening Standard and the Daily Mail for libel and won. The papers had published claims suggesting that she was embittered and held British men in low regard; Rigg took legal action to clear her name. She was awarded over $63,000 in damages and another $134,000 in court costs shares the Guardian.
Remind 