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Diana Rigg: The Biography
Recently voted the "sexiest television star of all time" by TV Guide readers, Diana Rigg is best known as the brilliant and seductive British agent, Emma Peel on The Avengers. The Tony and Emmy award-winning actress is famous not only for her acting talent, but for her keen intelligence and strong opinions as well.Diana Rigg biographer Kathleen Tracy reveals the fascinating professional and personal life of this rebellious, outspoken icon of feminism—from her childhood in India and early days with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London to her tenure on The Avengers, her role in the Bond film On Her Maiesty's Secret Service and her distinguished stage career.
- GenresBiographyNonfictionTv
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 31, 2022
This was an absolute blast to read. Diana is a delight. She’s a person that I believe anyone would be delighted to have called “friend.” A dedicated mother and actress. Even more so, Diana Rigg was fully committed to the experience of living. She pulled the marrow from the bones of existence.
The book is filled with quotes from interviews. The flow was perfect. If you are curious about Diana Rigg or enjoy biographies or any of aspects of the theater, you’ll likely love this book.
I hope a larger book on Diana Rigg will be written. Perhaps by her daughter, Rachel? This book ends before Diana’s role in Game of Thrones. I’m sure Diana had observations that many of us would love to read. Also, I’d love to read about her last months that she apparently met with the same honesty and strength as she approached everything else in her life. Diana lived life on her terms.
I found myself taking photos of a few pages in the book to keep quotes of things that Diana said that are words to keep. Mayhap live by. Such as:
“When I'm sixty-six, I hope I'm.…... alive,
I’m in one piece, that I am independent, physically and financially, that I've learned a great deal more than I have up until this stage and that I'm a raver of a sixty-seven-year-old, you know, fun to be with and joyous, laughing a great deal… "
There is a lovely article in The Guardian about Diana’s last months. It’s a read that will make you laugh and cry.
Diana Rigg. I’d add philosopher and life coach to her many accomplishments.
The book is filled with quotes from interviews. The flow was perfect. If you are curious about Diana Rigg or enjoy biographies or any of aspects of the theater, you’ll likely love this book.
I hope a larger book on Diana Rigg will be written. Perhaps by her daughter, Rachel? This book ends before Diana’s role in Game of Thrones. I’m sure Diana had observations that many of us would love to read. Also, I’d love to read about her last months that she apparently met with the same honesty and strength as she approached everything else in her life. Diana lived life on her terms.
I found myself taking photos of a few pages in the book to keep quotes of things that Diana said that are words to keep. Mayhap live by. Such as:
“When I'm sixty-six, I hope I'm.…... alive,
I’m in one piece, that I am independent, physically and financially, that I've learned a great deal more than I have up until this stage and that I'm a raver of a sixty-seven-year-old, you know, fun to be with and joyous, laughing a great deal… "
There is a lovely article in The Guardian about Diana’s last months. It’s a read that will make you laugh and cry.
Diana Rigg. I’d add philosopher and life coach to her many accomplishments.
February 2, 2019
Very Interesting
I always thought I would love to meet Diana Rigg. Her intelligence as an actress and as a person shows clearly in her work. Through reading this O know I am right. Brava Dame Diana and thanks for sharing your talent with the world.
I always thought I would love to meet Diana Rigg. Her intelligence as an actress and as a person shows clearly in her work. Through reading this O know I am right. Brava Dame Diana and thanks for sharing your talent with the world.
February 1, 2021
To be blunt, this book isn’t very good...even if I did end up mostly enjoying it. It was a fairly breezy read, after all, and it did provide a basic survey of Diana Rigg’s life.
If you decide to read this, then it will help to know what you’re getting. Expect a standard PEOPLE magazine type of biography. It’s fairly well written but not challenging. Naturally, there are some photographs, although they are black and white, and there aren’t as many as you might expect. The reverse title page tells me that author Kathleen Tracy has also written books about Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, Drew Carey and the Dixie Chicks, and without having seen them, I’m going to guess that none took her very long to write.
I say this, because DIANA RIGG: THE BIOGRAPHY could be termed a “lazy” book. There are no footnotes, endnotes or bibliography, but Tracy doesn’t appear to have done much research. She also doesn’t appear to have interviewed anyone for the book, and there’s no evidence that she’s ever met Rigg (not that an author needs to know her subject, but it is a means of gaining insight). What we get, mainly, are copious quotes from old interviews, mostly with Rigg herself. At times, it seemed that I was just reading one quote after another. It would have helped if Tracy had at least included more quotes from Rigg’s family, friends or co-stars, but we find no such variety.
Mind you, the quotes aren’t without value. They do provide insight into Rigg’s personality and reveal her views on subjects such as the acting profession, entertainment journalists, feminism, motherhood and her personal relationships. I’ll give Tracy some points for usually using contemporary quotes, rather than ones in which Rigg looks back in hindsight. As an historian myself, I appreciate that.
It’s perhaps worth noting, too, that those seeking a biography of Rigg will likely face limited choices. An Amazon search reveals only one other book, a 166 page volume by an identified “fictional erotica” author known as Harry Lime. Lime’s Rigg biography does not appear to be a work of erotica, but regardless, the sole Amazon review of it isn’t positive. Reading Tracy’s book did, at least, provide a respectable telling of Rigg’s life story. One caveat: DIANA RIGG: THE BIOGRAPHY was published in 2003, and Rigg lived another 17 years. Thus, her latter years - which include her time on the popular GAME OF THRONES TV show - are not covered.
Ultimately, I don’t regret reading DIANA RIGG: THE BIOGRAPHY, and at 277 pages (with some photos) it didn’t take long to read, anyway. At the same time, I can’t recommend it, and for most people, it likely won’t be worth the time invested.
If you decide to read this, then it will help to know what you’re getting. Expect a standard PEOPLE magazine type of biography. It’s fairly well written but not challenging. Naturally, there are some photographs, although they are black and white, and there aren’t as many as you might expect. The reverse title page tells me that author Kathleen Tracy has also written books about Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, Drew Carey and the Dixie Chicks, and without having seen them, I’m going to guess that none took her very long to write.
I say this, because DIANA RIGG: THE BIOGRAPHY could be termed a “lazy” book. There are no footnotes, endnotes or bibliography, but Tracy doesn’t appear to have done much research. She also doesn’t appear to have interviewed anyone for the book, and there’s no evidence that she’s ever met Rigg (not that an author needs to know her subject, but it is a means of gaining insight). What we get, mainly, are copious quotes from old interviews, mostly with Rigg herself. At times, it seemed that I was just reading one quote after another. It would have helped if Tracy had at least included more quotes from Rigg’s family, friends or co-stars, but we find no such variety.
Mind you, the quotes aren’t without value. They do provide insight into Rigg’s personality and reveal her views on subjects such as the acting profession, entertainment journalists, feminism, motherhood and her personal relationships. I’ll give Tracy some points for usually using contemporary quotes, rather than ones in which Rigg looks back in hindsight. As an historian myself, I appreciate that.
It’s perhaps worth noting, too, that those seeking a biography of Rigg will likely face limited choices. An Amazon search reveals only one other book, a 166 page volume by an identified “fictional erotica” author known as Harry Lime. Lime’s Rigg biography does not appear to be a work of erotica, but regardless, the sole Amazon review of it isn’t positive. Reading Tracy’s book did, at least, provide a respectable telling of Rigg’s life story. One caveat: DIANA RIGG: THE BIOGRAPHY was published in 2003, and Rigg lived another 17 years. Thus, her latter years - which include her time on the popular GAME OF THRONES TV show - are not covered.
Ultimately, I don’t regret reading DIANA RIGG: THE BIOGRAPHY, and at 277 pages (with some photos) it didn’t take long to read, anyway. At the same time, I can’t recommend it, and for most people, it likely won’t be worth the time invested.
December 19, 2018
Despite being a pop culture icon to millions in the role of Emma Peel in television's "The Avengers" with Patrick MacNee, and a Bond girl in "You Only Live Twice," or the host of PBS's "Mystery," Diana Rigg is also a RADA-trained Classical actress, who played legendary roles on the British stage in the likes of Phaedra, Medea, Mother Courage, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf?, All For Love, The Misanthrope, Jumpers, Abelard & Heloise,and a host of Shakespeare parts. Always ready for a challenge and keen to learn different techniques she's worked in every medium an actor can express themselves in. Although this is a biography put together from existing sources, it's one of the better ones I've read, well-edited, tight and concise, getting straight to the facts and moving at a good clip. Would they were all as skilled as this. - BH.
March 4, 2020
I didn't really know much about Diana Rigg other than she was on the Avengers television series. This book helps solve my ignorance and presents a biography of a woman who is dedicated to the acting craft, who has appeared in numerous theatrical plays, numerous television shows and numerous movies.
She has been through various marriages, has one daughter, and has been declared a Dame of Britain. She has worked for various charities and has, at times, worked for a pay lover than a garbage man or a camera man.
The book goes into detail of her plays and other aspects of her life. It also has lists of her awards and performances.
I decided I wanted to watch Theater of Blood, a movie she was in with Vincent Price. He places an insane actor who goes about killing his critics and she plays his almost equally insane daughter. It's kind of gruesome in spots.
She has been through various marriages, has one daughter, and has been declared a Dame of Britain. She has worked for various charities and has, at times, worked for a pay lover than a garbage man or a camera man.
The book goes into detail of her plays and other aspects of her life. It also has lists of her awards and performances.
I decided I wanted to watch Theater of Blood, a movie she was in with Vincent Price. He places an insane actor who goes about killing his critics and she plays his almost equally insane daughter. It's kind of gruesome in spots.
August 6, 2021
I did not think this was a great biography. Ms. Tracy spent more time talking about George Lazenby (Diana's James Bond co-star in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service") than she spoke about Diana and that movie. I did think she gave Ms. Rigg adequate time regarding her talents, training, personal life and thoughts about being an actress but overall, this was not at all a great biography; it often seemed like the author was just quoting snippets of Ms. Rigg's interviews with various media people.
May 16, 2018
Calling this a biography is stretching the word, I fear. It's almost entirely made up of celeb interviews conducted by other people—it isn't clear that Kathleen Tracy even met her subject. The result is a false portrait of this fine actress.
December 17, 2019
The first chapter held such promise. I had to quit reading this after a couple of chapters because it was an endless line of quotations from different interviews. All properly cited, but the author didn't really did up much. I quit reading it.
September 11, 2018
Out of date
A collection of newspaper articles have been woven together into a text so out of date that an innocent man is listed as a killer
A collection of newspaper articles have been woven together into a text so out of date that an innocent man is listed as a killer
November 4, 2018
Excellent book. Love Dianna Rigg.
October 1, 2023
Worth the read
Here's hoping Diana Rift enjoyed this biography. What a dame! A strong woman in a field that can destroy one's sense of self she accomplished so much.
Here's hoping Diana Rift enjoyed this biography. What a dame! A strong woman in a field that can destroy one's sense of self she accomplished so much.
February 4, 2026
Theme paper.
July 26, 2015
Having just recently read "Blind In One Ear", a memoir of Patrick Macnee, who played the inimitable Mr. Steed in the 1960s British cult series The Avengers (see review
here), I could not resist picking the biography of Ms. Diana Rigg, who played the unforgettable Emma Peel in that series. It is ironic that Ms. Rigg, a great British stage actress, who have won numerous acting awards for her performances in Medea (Tony Award), Rebecca (Emmy Award), Abelard and Heloise (Critics Award), Mother Courage and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and others, who was named a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her stage career, is mostly known for a role in a TV series. On the other hand, it is not a surprise that the series in which both leads were played by real actors rather than TV hacks is widely considered one of the best cult series in the history of television.
Alas, while Mr. Macnee's memoir – thanks to the author’s perhaps unexpected literary gifts and his great sense of humor - is a pleasure to read, Ms. Rigg's biography, authored by Kathleen Tracy, is barely readable; in fact, it is likely the worst biography I have ever read. Ms. Tracy's method is to quote long passages from hundreds of interviews with Ms. Rigg and with people who have known her, and to use her own words only to interpret the quotes and provide segues from one quote to another. Even worse, the bio is full of pages and pages of completely irrelevant asides. For instance, why do we need to read minute details of Mr. Lazenby’s career, why do we need to know what he did before acting in a movie with Ms. Rigg and after? Why would we want to read about Ms. Blackman's and Ms. Shepherd's careers?
It is a pity that the author limits herself to a mechanical, cut-and-paste approach in this biography, instead of examining in depth such fascinating issues as, for example, Ms. Rigg’s relationship with feminism: while the character of Mrs. Peel is both pre-feminist (these are the 1960s) and post-feminist (as she takes feminism for granted), Ms. Rigg strongly denies any feminist bent of her own. I would also love to read more about what Ms. Rigg herself thinks about her various stage performances – the mechanical listing of titles, critics’ blurbs, and awards does not make for an interesting biography.
One and a half stars.
here), I could not resist picking the biography of Ms. Diana Rigg, who played the unforgettable Emma Peel in that series. It is ironic that Ms. Rigg, a great British stage actress, who have won numerous acting awards for her performances in Medea (Tony Award), Rebecca (Emmy Award), Abelard and Heloise (Critics Award), Mother Courage and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and others, who was named a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her stage career, is mostly known for a role in a TV series. On the other hand, it is not a surprise that the series in which both leads were played by real actors rather than TV hacks is widely considered one of the best cult series in the history of television.
Alas, while Mr. Macnee's memoir – thanks to the author’s perhaps unexpected literary gifts and his great sense of humor - is a pleasure to read, Ms. Rigg's biography, authored by Kathleen Tracy, is barely readable; in fact, it is likely the worst biography I have ever read. Ms. Tracy's method is to quote long passages from hundreds of interviews with Ms. Rigg and with people who have known her, and to use her own words only to interpret the quotes and provide segues from one quote to another. Even worse, the bio is full of pages and pages of completely irrelevant asides. For instance, why do we need to read minute details of Mr. Lazenby’s career, why do we need to know what he did before acting in a movie with Ms. Rigg and after? Why would we want to read about Ms. Blackman's and Ms. Shepherd's careers?
It is a pity that the author limits herself to a mechanical, cut-and-paste approach in this biography, instead of examining in depth such fascinating issues as, for example, Ms. Rigg’s relationship with feminism: while the character of Mrs. Peel is both pre-feminist (these are the 1960s) and post-feminist (as she takes feminism for granted), Ms. Rigg strongly denies any feminist bent of her own. I would also love to read more about what Ms. Rigg herself thinks about her various stage performances – the mechanical listing of titles, critics’ blurbs, and awards does not make for an interesting biography.
One and a half stars.
October 9, 2009
Why the rating: Boring.
When it got to her involvement with The Avengers and the Bond movie (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) the author seemed to forget it was a biography about Diana Rigg.
I was not interested in Rigg, so I didn't care that it lost sight of her in those sections. I checked out this book with the express purpose of hoping to find an answer to an Avenger question I have. But if I were reading it for Rigg, I would have been very disappointed.
The more I read, the more I disliked Diana. The author seemed to repeat herself and I got confused on her point several times. Plus, it just got boring--didn't seem to be going anywhere.
Oh, I did not get my question answered. I also did not finish the book.
Diana Rigg is a good actress, on stage, on TV, and in movies. I just didn't have that much interest in biographies, autobiographies, or things passed on true stories.
I just wanted to know if one episode of The Avengers was setting up to replace her or not. If it had been, it would have been likely to have been brought up (especially since Rigg wanted to quite, but stayed the second year out of devotion to her co-star).
When it got to her involvement with The Avengers and the Bond movie (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) the author seemed to forget it was a biography about Diana Rigg.
I was not interested in Rigg, so I didn't care that it lost sight of her in those sections. I checked out this book with the express purpose of hoping to find an answer to an Avenger question I have. But if I were reading it for Rigg, I would have been very disappointed.
The more I read, the more I disliked Diana. The author seemed to repeat herself and I got confused on her point several times. Plus, it just got boring--didn't seem to be going anywhere.
Oh, I did not get my question answered. I also did not finish the book.
Diana Rigg is a good actress, on stage, on TV, and in movies. I just didn't have that much interest in biographies, autobiographies, or things passed on true stories.
I just wanted to know if one episode of The Avengers was setting up to replace her or not. If it had been, it would have been likely to have been brought up (especially since Rigg wanted to quite, but stayed the second year out of devotion to her co-star).
July 21, 2015
This book by Kathleen Tracy is less than 300 pages but you'd think it was more like 3,000 for as long as it took to get through this. A fascinating actress and yet an amazingly dry book that was a difficult read. It seemed to be mostly quotes from articles Diana Rigg has given over the years.
Tracy also seems to have a fascination with Rigg's first Avengers big screen role. For the life of me I can't figure out why the chapter was more about George Lazenby than Diana Rigg. It went on and on about him causing me to think about just packing it in. I persevered and still admire Rigg though I don't feel I know her that much better.
Time to go rewatch my Avengers DVDs.
Tracy also seems to have a fascination with Rigg's first Avengers big screen role. For the life of me I can't figure out why the chapter was more about George Lazenby than Diana Rigg. It went on and on about him causing me to think about just packing it in. I persevered and still admire Rigg though I don't feel I know her that much better.
Time to go rewatch my Avengers DVDs.
June 20, 2008
This is a nicely done biography that is slightly out of date. I really enjoyed it.
July 9, 2009
Love her! Emma Peel!!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews