LONDON -- Stella Rimington, the first female chief of Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency and later a successful thriller writer, has died, her family said Monday. She was 90. The first woman to head a U.K. intelligence agency, Rimington was the inspiration for Judi Dench’s portrayal of MI6 chief M in seven James Bond films.

Stella Rimington, the first female director general of Britain's MI5 security and counter-intelligence service who ushered in an era of greater transparency at the agency, has died aged 90. Rimington,

Dame Stella Rimington, the first woman to lead MI5, the UK’s domestic intelligence service, has died. She was 90. The first MI5 director-general to be publicly named, Rimington took on the top role in 1992 after spending more than two decades working in the security services,