Portrayed by Diana Rigg

Status: Deceased

Age: 76 (in her final season)

Date of Birth : 228 AC

Origin: The Arbor

Episode Appearances: 18

First Seen: ‘Dark Wings, Dark Words’

Last Seen: ‘The Queen's Justice’

BACKGROUND

Lady Olenna Tyrell, née Redwyne, is the elderly matriarch of House Tyrell, one of the wealthiest Great Houses of the realm. Lady Olenna has been a mistress of court politics, plotting and intrigue par excellence throughout her life. She is also known for her wit and sarcasm. As a result, Lady Olenna is popularly nicknamed the “Queen of Thorns.” Olenna is the widow of Lord Luthor Tyrell and the mother of Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden, Warden of the South and Lord Paramount of the Reach. Olenna is also the grandmother of Mace’s children, Loras and Margaery. She was born into House Redwyne, one of the most powerful vassals of House Tyrell. In many ways she is the de-facto head of House Tyrell and appears to hold a great deal of influence over the Reach, one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms. In her youth, Olenna Redwyne was engaged to a member of House Targaryen, as it was "all the rage" at the time; it was her sister Viola to whom Luthor Tyrell was betrothed. However, Olenna instantly dismissed the idea upon clapping eyes on her "ludicrously silver-haired" fiancée and instead set her sights on Luthor. The night before the proposal, Olenna purportedly got lost on her way back from her embroidery lesson, stumbled upon the room in which Luthor was staying and proceeded to seduce him. Although Olenna consistently refers to Luthor as an oaf, she was genuinely fond of him.

Throughout history, House Tyrell has played by the strategy of siding with whoever is most likely to win in a conflict. During the Targaryen Conquest, they surrendered Highgarden to the forces of Aegon the Conqueror, and in return the Tyrells were elevated. During Robert's Rebellion, House Tyrell remained loyal to House Targaryen, however, following the Mad King's death, the Tyrells surrendered and swore fealty to the usurper king, Robert Baratheon. In the current generation, House Tyrell is a stable and loving family, with none of the internal rivalries that are to be found in other noble houses. Thus the relationships between Olenna and her family are genuine and uncomplicated. After the start of the War of the Five Kings and a recent alliance formed with House Lannister, Olenna’s granddaughter Lady Margaery has traveled to King’s Landing in order to enter into a marriage arrangement with King Joffrey Baratheon.