Born:
July 20, 1938
in
Doncaster
Best Known For:
Being a 1960s icon.
Early-life:
Born Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg on July 20, 1938, in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but spent her early years in India. At the age of eight she was sent back to England to attend boarding school in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire. She later transferred to Fulneck School in West Yorkshire where she developed her love of acting, inspiring her to audition for a place at RADA in 1955; she made her professional stage debut the same year.
Career:
In 1959, Rigg signed a five-year contract with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her move to TV came in 1965 when she was offered the role of Emma Peel in The Avengers, but the demand for interviews and photographs proved too much, forcing her to quit in 1967. She went on to star in various movies, including On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Julius Caesar and The Great Muppet Caper, but by the 1980s her screen success was fading. However, she returned to form in 1989 in the award-winning miniseries Mother Love, and has appeared continually on stage, film and TV ever since. In 2013, she made a memorable Doctor Who villain alongside Matt Smith and her real-life daughter Rachael Stirling, and has a regular role in the acclaimed Game of Thrones.
Quote:
"You go your own way - you think, ‘That's what I want to do, it gives me pleasure' - the rest of the world can swing on by."
Trivia:
She was made a Dame in 1994.