Diana Rigg

A tall, incisive British leading lady and sometime character player with admirably high cheekbones and a crisp style of line delivery, Rigg came to specialize in icy villainesses such as the ungrateful daughter Regan in the 1984 syndicated TV version of "King Lear". Also typical was the murderous, smotheringly affectionate parent of the TV miniseries "Mother Love" (PBS, 1990).

After studying drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Rigg joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the days when Peter Hall was director. With senior actors like Edith Evans, Charles Laughton and Laurence Olivier still performing with the company, Rigg enjoyed an auspicious start to her highly distinguished stage career with her Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and as the demure Cordelia in "King Lear".

Rigg surprised many of her colleagues with her next career move, but for many fans, she is most affectionately remembered for her sleek, sexy, good-humored detective Emma Peel, frequently clad in black leather and ready to dispense with both karate chops or witty quips, on the cult TV adventure series, "The Avengers" (1965-69). "Diana" (NBC, 1973-74) was a mildly likable but less successful TV sitcom follow-up, but by then Rigg had ventured into occasional feature films. Most notable here were the satirical, Paddy Chayefsky-scripted black comedy of "The Hospital" (1971), the highly enjoyable horror send-up "Theater of Blood" (1973), and the Agatha Christie mystery "Evil Under the Sun" (1982).

Rigg's wide eyes, rich speaking voice and cool elegance stood her in good stead as middle age approached, her slightly sharp quality lending edge to her Broadway work in "The Misanthrope" (1974-75), her tour with a musicalized life of fin-de-siecle novelist and wit "Colette" (1982), and a memorable Tony-winning turn as the vengeful "Medea" (1994). Her intriguing combination of the passionate and the aloof also marked her US TV-movie debut as a woman who renounces both love and a career to become a cloistered nun in "In This House of Brede" (CBS, 1975). Her singing talent found occasional expression onstage, as in the London production of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" (1987), and her sly but regal grace made her a welcome host (and sometimes actor) of the British-made PBS anthology series, "Mystery!", beginning in 1989 after Vincent Price left the program.

Rigg went on to appear in a host of television movies and miniseries as well as the occasional film and was nominated for an Emmy in 2002 for her portrayal of Baroness Lehzen in the critically acclaimed miniseries "Victoria & Albert."

• Also Credited As:
  Dame Diana Rigg
• Born:
  July 20, 1938 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Model

Family

• Daughter: Rachael Stirling. born on May 30, 1977
• Father: Louis Rigg. built railroads in India when Rigg was a little girl
• Mother: Beryl Rigg.

Significant Others

• Companion: Philip Saville. lived together in the 1960s

Education

• Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, England
• Fulneck Girls School, Pudsey, Yorkshire, England

Milestones

• 1945 Moved back to England when she began attending boarding school (date approximate)
• 1951 Acted in school play of Goldilocks at age 13
• 1957 Professional stage debut as Natasha Abashwilli in RADA production of Bertolt Brecht s The Caucasian Chalk Circle at York Festival
• 1959 Joined Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-on-Avon
• 1960 First acted with the RSC when she played the role of Andromache in Shakespeare s Troilus and Cressida
• 1961 London stage debut with RSC, playing Philippe Trincant in The Devils (February 20th)
• 1962 Returned to Stratford; began playing wide range of Shakespearean roles at the Aldwych Theater
• 1963 TV debut as Francy in episode of ITV s Sentimental Agent
• 1964 Announcement that Rigg had won role of Emma Peel on The Avengers (December 15th)
• 1964 Left the RSC (date approximate)
• 1965 Acted on ABC hit adventure series, The Avengers
• 1966 Returned to the RSC to play Viola in a production of Twelfth Night
• 1968 Film debut as Helena in A Midsummer Night s Dream (film version of RSC stage production, broadcast on CBS in 1969)
• 1971 Broadway debut, Abelard and Heloise ; received Tony nomination as Best Actress in a Play
• 1971 First US film, The Hospital
• 1971 Joined London s National Theater to play the role of Dottie in Tom Stoppard s Jumpers
• 1975 US TV-movie debut, In This House of Brede ; received Emmy nomination for performance
• 1982 Last feature film for five years, Evil Under the Sun
• 1982 Played the title role in the stage musical biography of the noted novelist, Colette ; show closed while on tour and never made it to Broadway
• 1987 Performed in the Stephen Sondheim musical, Follies , on the London stage
• 1987 Returned to features to play the Mean Queen in an adaptation of Snow White
• 1989 Served as host of the British-made anthology series, Mystery! , Broadcast on PBS
• 1990 Starred in the PBS miniseries, Mother Love , aired as several installments of Mystery!
• 1993 Returned again to features to appear in another children s fantasy film, The Worst Witch
• 1994 Named Dame Commander of the British Empire by the Queen
• 1994 Returned to the Broadway stage for the first time in two decades in a revival of Euripides classic tragedy, Medea
• 1999 Portrayed a woman dying of cancer in Parting Shots , directed by Michael Winner
• 2001 Appeared in the A&E miniseries Victoria & Albert about the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
• 2001 Featured on the London stage in Humble Boy
• 2006 Cast in John Curran s adaptation of the Somerset Maugham novel, The Painted Veil
• Lived with her parents again when they returned to England from India
• Modelled for four months in stores (date approximate)
• Played Diana Smythe on the NBC sitcom, Diana
• Returned to Broadway to act in a revival of Moliere s The Misanthrope ; received Tony nomination as Best Actress in a Play
• Spent time as a child living in India when her father worked there building railways; spoke Hindi and was tended to by the customary ayah (a nanny)