Former MI5 director Dame Stella Rimington dies aged 90
Dame Stella was also an author and is widely credited as the inspiration for Dame Judi Dench's M in the James Bond films.
She was born on May 13, 1935, in South Norwood and was dubbed the 'housewife superspy' when she came into the role at MI5.
Dame Stella Rimington - Family Announcement
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Dame Stella Rimington, the first female Director General of MI5 and author. She died last night, 3rd August 2025. pic.twitter.com/FdgZqAmBy0 — Georgina Capel Assoc (@GeorginaCapel) August 4, 2025
Dame Stella held the position from 1992 to 1996, and alongside being the first woman to hold the role, was also the first director general to have their name publicised on appointment.
She also became the first director general to pose openly for cameras at the launch of a brochure outlining the organisation's activities in 1993.
The life of Dame Stella Rimington
Rimington was born Stella Whitehouse on May 13, 1935, and moved with her family to Essex due to the danger of living in London during the Second World War.
Due to her father's job, she moved around a bit in her childhood before enrolling at the University of Edinburgh in 1954 to study English.
She met her future husband, John Rimington, here, and they married in 1963.
Dame Stella successfully applied for a position at the India Office Library, and then moved over there in 1965 after her husband was offered an overseas posting as First Secretary (Economic) for the British High Commission in New Delhi.
BREAKING: The former first female director general of MI5, Dame Stella Rimington, has died. https://t.co/XMgWT69Q4q
📺 Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/Lk119ppIh6 — Sky News (@SkyNews) August 4, 2025
In 1967, after two years in India, Dame Stella was asked to assist one of the First Secretaries at the High Commission with his office work.
She agreed, and when she began, discovered that he was the representative in India of the British Security Service (MI5).
Gaining her security clearance, Dame Stella worked in the MI5 office for nearly two years, until she and her husband returned to London in 1969, where she decided to apply for a permanent position at MI5.
Between 1969 and 1990, she worked in all three branches of the Security Service: counter espionage, counter subversion, and counter terrorism.
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She got to the position of director general in 1992 and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB) in the 1996 New Year Honours.
After leaving MI5, she worked as a non-executive director for companies such as Marks & Spencer and BG Group.
Dame Stella also became an author with the Liz Carlyle spy thriller novels, where she used her knowledge from her time working in MI5.
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