British actress Dame Diana Rigg was born on July 20, 1938 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. She has had an extensive career in film and theatre, including playing the title role in "Medea", both in London and New York, for which she won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Rigg made her professional stage debut in 1957 in the Caucasian Chalk Circle, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959. She made her Broadway debut in the 1971 production of "Abelard & Heloise". Her film roles include Helena in _A Midsummer Night's Dream by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to drama.
She is more properly known as Dame Diana Rigg, the female equivalent of the title "Sir" when knighted. In June 1994, she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her long contributions to theater and film.
She received Tony Award nominations as Best Actress for "Abelard and Heloise" and for "The Misanthrope". She won the Best Actress (Play) Tony Award in 1994 for her performance in the title role of "Medea". In recent years, her performances in "Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Mother Courage and Her Children" have led critics to proclaim her one of the greatest actresses on the British stage.
A savage review from John Simon for her performance in "Abelard and Heloise" led her to collect devastating theatrical reviews throughout history. The result was her book, "No Turn Unstoned", published in 1982.
At one time, she was Chancellor of Stirling University in Scotland.
Was voted the sexiest-ever TV star by TV Guide in the United States.
Mother of Rachael Stirling (born 1977).
20 October 2003 - British courts awarded her $63,832 and $134,000 in court expenses in her libel suit against Britains "Evening Standard" and "Daily Mail" newspapers. They had written that she was an embittered woman who held British men in low regard.
She was nominated for 1999 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award (1998 season) for Best Actress for her performances in both "Britannicus" and "Phdre".
She was nominated for 1997 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play of 1996 for her performance in "Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".
She was awarded the 1992 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in "Medea".
She was awarded the 1996 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performances in "Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Mother Courage".
Born in Yorkshire, the daughter of a railroad engineer, she moved with her family to India at the age of two months and lived there until she was 8 (she learned to speak Hindi).
Is the first major actor (along with co-star Keith Michell ) to appear nude on stage in the production of "Abelard and Heloise" .
Became an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company and was the first as such to join the National Theatre of Great Britain .
Received honorary degrees from Stirling University and Leeds University.
Graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, England; became an Associate Member.
Was forced to turn down the role of Elizabeth in Paint Your Wagon with Clint Eastwood , due to illness. Jean Seberg replaced her.
Best known by the public for her role as Mrs. Emma Peel on "The Avengers" .
Her ex-husband, Archibald Stirling, is the nephew of Colonel Sir David Stirling, founder of the Special Air Service (SAS).
A smoker from age 18, she continued to smoke 20 cigarettes a day. However, she gave up smoking in 2010 at age 72.
Has acted in both the Doctor Who and the Eon James Bond franchises.
Is the only Dame to have acted in the Doctor Who franchise.
Daughter of Louis Rigg (1903-1968) and Beryl Hilda Rigg (ne Helliwell) (1908-1981).
Her first husband, Menachen Gueffen, was an Israeli artist.
Winner of Doctor Who Magazine Best Guest Actress for 2013.
Although she played Gabriele Ferzetti s daughter in On Her Majestys Secret Service , she is only 13 years his junior.
Is the only Bond girl to ever get James Bond to the altar - Tracy Bond in On Her Majestys Secret Service .
She was awarded the CBE in the 1988 Queens New Year Honours List for her services to drama.
Her smaller-than-usual role on "Detectorists" is explained by the fact that her characters daughter, the female lead on the series, is played by her real-life daughter Rachael Stirling.
She was awarded the 2014 Will Award, presented by the Shakespeare Theatre Company, along with Stacey Keach and Sir John Hurt.
Her acting mentor was Patrick Macnee , whom she credits as her favorite acting mentor/best friend.
Born on the same date as Natalie Wood.
In "The Avengers" , she beat Pamela Ann Davy , Juliet Harmer and Moira Lister.
[on hitting middle age] I am devastated at what has happened. I have,completely disappeared. I am totally invisible. I never really liked my,sexy label but on the other hand, to disappear so totally is quite,startling.
The leather catsuit I wore in "The Avengers" (1961) was a total,nightmare; it took a good 45 minutes to get unzipped to go to the loo.
It was like struggling in and out of a wet-suit. Once I got into the,jersey catsuits, they were very easy to wear but you had to watch for,baggy knees; there is nothing worse. I got a lot of very odd fan mail,while I was in that show, but my mum used to enjoy replying to it. Some,of the men who wrote to me must have been a bit startled because she,would offer really motherly advice. I would get a letter from a teenage,boy, say, who was overexcited and my mother would write back saying:,"My daughter is far too old for you and what you really need is a good,run around the block. ".
