Diana Rigg, the British actress who enthralled London and New York theater audiences with her performances in classic roles for more than a half-century but remained best known as the quintessential new woman of the 1960s \u2014 sexy, confident, witty and karate-adept \u2014 on the television series \u201cThe Avengers,\u201d died on Thursday at her home in London. She was 82.<\/p>\n
Her daughter, Rachael Stirling, said in a statement that the cause was cancer.<\/p>\n
Ms. Rigg had late-career success in a recurring role, from 2013 to 2016, as the outspoken and demanding Lady Olenna Tyrell on HBO\u2019s acclaimed series \u201cGame of Thrones.\u201d \u201cI wonder if you\u2019re the worst person I ever met,\u201d Lady Olenna once said to her nemesis Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). \u201cAt a certain age, it\u2019s hard to recall.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ms. Rigg\u2019s first and biggest taste of stardom came in 1965, when, as a 26-year-old veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, she was cast on the fourth season of ITV\u2019s \u201cThe Avengers.\u201d As Emma Peel, she was the stylish new crime-fighting partner of the dapper intelligence agent John Steed (Patrick Macnee), replacing Honor Blackman, who had left to star in the James Bond film \u201cGoldfinger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Diana Rigg, the British actress best known for her quintessential role on the 1960s TV series \u201cThe Avengers\u201d and more recently for her role in \u201cGame of Thrones,\u201d has died. She was 82. https:\/\/t.co\/yHeLUKQUH7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The New York Times (@nytimes) September 10, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n