LONDON: Stars of stage and screen on Thursday paid tribute to Diana Rigg, the award-winning British actress who shot to fame in the 1960s television series "The Avengers" and won new fans in "Game of Thrones", after her death aged 82.

Rigg, who won Emmy, Tony and Bafta awards during her lengthy career on both sides of the Atlantic, passed away six months after being diagnosed with cancer.

Simon Beresford, her agent, said in a statement that she had died "peacefully" early on Thursday morning at home with her family, who had asked for privacy.