Widely regarded as the inspiration for the recast of the James Bond character “M,” she was the first British spy chief to be publicly named and photographed.

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.

Dame Stella Rimington, MI5's first female director general, has died at the age of 90, her family has said. Dame Stella, who headed the security service from 1992 to 1996, was widely credited as being the model for Dame Judi Dench's M in the James Bond films.