London – Stella Rymington, the first female chief of the UK MI5 Intelligence Agency and later successful thriller writer, passed away on Monday. She was 90 years old.
The first woman to lead the UK Intelligence Agency, Lymington was the inspiration for her portrayal of MI6 Chief M Judi Dench in seven James Bond films.
Her family said in a statement that Lymington “died Sunday surrounded by her beloved family and dogs, deciding on the life she loved until her last breath.”
“As the world's first openly and wise head of women, Dame Stella has broken through years of barriers and is a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership,” said Ken McCallum, the current executive director of MI5.
Born in London in 1935, Lymington studied English at the University of Edinburgh and later worked as an archivist. She lived in India in the mid-1960s with her diplomat husband when the UK's domestic security agency MI5 was hired as a part-time store clerk and typist in her New Delhi office.
After returning to London in 1969, she joined the agency full-time, climbing the ranks and overcame rules that maintained the most honorable roles, such as male-only recruitment and running agents.
She worked in each of the MI5 operations departments while MI5's work sniffing Soviet spies, infiltrating extremist groups in Northern Ireland, spies on leftists, union leaders and other suspects.
In 2001, Lymington admitted that several organizations peeking at domestic targets during the Cold War “may have been a bit enthusiastic.”
Lymington was appointed Director of MI5 in 1992. This was the first head of the organization to be named in a public setting, and her tenure was a bit open to the secret organization.
Dench's first appearance as M, a male-played role, was in 1995 in “Goldeneye.” The film's producer said the casting was inspired by the appointment of Limington.
After resigning in 1996, Limington was made into a dam, a woman equivalent to a knight by Queen Elizabeth II.
Lymington later unveiled a series of spice thrillers featuring “Open Secret” and memoir “Open Secret” to government complaints, as well as a series of spice thrillers featuring fictional MI5 executive Liz Carlyle.
“The Devil's Digging,” published in 2022, introduced the new heroine, CIA executive Manon Tyler.
Other women followed her top intelligence work. Eliza Manningham-Buller led the MI5 between 2002 and 2007. AnneKeast-Butler became head of electronic and cyber intelligence agency GCHQ in 2023. BlaiseMetreweli was named the first female head of the overseas intelligence agency MI6 in June.
Limington and her husband John Limington separated in the 1980s, but returned together during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.
“It's a good marriage recipe,” she said. “We'll split, live separately, and then we'll go back to it later.”
She was survived by her husband, two daughters and five grandchildren.