British actress, Dame Diana Rigg, has passed at 82. She burst on the scene (as recently passed Honor Blackman's replacement) on the trendsetting spy show The Avengers from the 1960s. She left at the height of ots popularity to embark on a distinguished acting career in such films as The Hospital, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (as Mrs. James Bond) and Evil Under the Sun, making a name for herself in television and on the theatrical stage winning Emmy and Tony Awards. She was known to a new generation for recent appearances on Game of Thrones and just finished her last film, Last Night in Soho due for 2021. But it was her role as Emma Peel in The Avengers that will always stand out. Here was a strong willed character not defined by her sex. She was smart, cultured, independent, and boy, she could kick butt with her martial arts. It was a groundbreaking character way ahead of its time.
