Tanya Roberts, Bond girl, Charlie's Angel and 'That '70s Show' star, dies aged 65
Tanya Roberts, who starred in That ’70s Show and played a Bond girl in A View To A Kill, has died. She was 65.
The American actress had collapsed on Christmas eve after going for a walk with her dogs, TMZ reported. She was admitted to Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and died on Sunday (January 3).
Roberts’ death was not COVID-19 related, both publications reported, and she was not ill in the days leading up to her passing, even conducting Zoom ‘shows’ and live chats with fans as recently as December 19.
No cause of death has been given. Roberts is survived by her longtime partner Lance O’Brien and her sister Barbara.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, her longtime friend and rep Mike Pingel said, “I’m devastated. She was brilliant and beautiful and I feel like a light has been taken away. To say she was an angel would be at the top of the list. She was the sweetest person you’d ever meet and had a huge heart. She loved her fans, and I don’t think she realised how much she meant to them.”
Pingel also confirmed Roberts’ death in a post on her official Facebook fan page:
I'm very sad to have to post this. Yes, Tanya passed away today. I'm heart broken. Mike Pingel
Posted by Tanya Roberts on Sunday, January 3, 2021
The actress, who was born Victoria Leigh Blum in the Bronx, New York, made her acting debut in 1975 with horror film Forced Entry. She is arguably best known for her role as the Bond girl Stacey Sutton opposite Roger Moore in 1985’s A View To A Kill, which was Moore’s last outing as 007.
She was also known for film roles in Beastmaster, Sheena, Night’s Eyes and Almost Pregnant.
As for television roles, Roberts joined ABC’s Charlie’s Angels in its fifth and final season in 1980-1981. In the late ’90s, she had a recurring supporting role in That ’70s Show as Midge Pinciotti, mother of Donna (Laura Prepon). She left the Fox sitcom in 2001 after its third season, reportedly to care for her terminally ill husband.