Actress Rachel Stirling will inherit £3 million from The Avengers actor Dame Diana Rigg, who also bequeathed £5,000 to a nail salon beautician.
After playing leather-clad Emma Peel in the popular series The Avengers and the tragic girlfriend of James Bond in On her Majesty’s Secret Service, Dame Diana became a household name in the 1960s and 1970s.
The British actress portrays the ruthless matriarch Lady Olenna Tyrell in the HBO series Game of Thrones, while revealing that she had never seen an episode of the drama.
A “flinty, fearless, force of nature,” Rigg lost a brief fight with cancer in September 2020 at the age of 82.
She signed a will leaving the most of her fortune, including homes in France and the United States, to her 44-year-old daughter Rachael Stirling.
A total of £3,368,886 has been reported as the worth of the estate.
Archibald Stirling, Rachael’s father, was a member of the Scots Guards and a theatre director. He later married Dame Diana.
Also read: Rachael Stirling ‘sobbed’ through late mum Dame Diana Rigg’s last movie Last Night in Soho
Ms. Stirling has followed in her mother’s footsteps by becoming an accomplished actor in her own right.
She has played leading roles in a wide variety of dramatic productions, from stage plays to films including Snow White and the Huntsman, Detectorists, Tipping the Velvet, and even Doctor Who.
Ms. Stirling and Lady Sarah Keswick, daughter of the Earl of Dalhousie, were named joint executors of her mother’s estate.
Along with leaving her daughter £3 million, Dame Diana also bequeathed £280,500 to family and charitable organisations.
Great Ormond Street Hospital, St. Christopher’s Hospice, and the Earl’s Court Youth Club each received £50,000. The Earl’s Court Youth Club received £20,000.
In addition to the £5,000 given to “Jessica of the Nail Gallery at 300 Fulham Road, London,” Winston Churchill also donated £500 to the Other Club, a dining group he founded in 2011 that regularly holds meetings at the Savoy Hotel.
Dame Diana, who resided in Cornwall Gardens, west London, also requested that £500 be used to “supply wine for the next meeting following my death and for me to be noted in the menu but not toasted.”
After training at the Royal Shakespeare Company, this Yorkshire native went on to have a successful playing career that included roles in film, television, and theatre.
Tray di Vicenzo became the second Bond girl to marry 007. Her portrayal of Tray garnered her a Bafta, an Emmy, and a Tony Award, and she was hailed across the world.
A dame for her contributions to the theatre, Rigg was knighted in 1994.
She co-starred with Rachael as a mother and daughter in the 2014 BBC comedy series The Detectorists.
Last year, Ms. Stirling honoured her mother with a touching snapshot of the two of them when they were younger.
To her “Beloved Beautiful Brave and Brilliant Mama” she penned the following words. In fact, I miss you. X’
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