By Naman Ramachandran | Variety
Actor Tanya Roberts, known for playing Stacey Sutton in the 1985 James Bond film “A View to a Kill” and Midge Pinciotti on “That ’70s Show” between 1998 and 2004, died Monday night after it was prematurely reported by many outlets that she had died on Sunday night. She was 65.
On Tuesday, Roberts’ partner, Lance O’Brien, told The New York Times that she died Monday night at Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles. O’Brien did not respond to Variety’s request for comment. Roberts’ publicist, Mike Pingel, told Variety that a statement would be coming Tuesday morning.
On Monday afternoon, Pingel told Variety that although O’Brien originally thought she had died on Sunday, the hospital called Monday morning to report she was still alive. However, Pingel said that Roberts was in the ICU in “dire” condition.
Roberts was out walking her dogs on Christmas Eve when she collapsed. The cause of death is not understood to be related to COVID-19.
Born Victoria Leigh Blum, Roberts had a successful modeling career and appeared in some off-Broadway roles. She made her film debut in 1975 with “The Last Victim.” Thereafter, she appeared in a series of films that attained cult status, including “The Beastmaster” (1982), “Sheena: Queen of the Jungle” (1984), “Body Slam” (1987) and “Night Eyes” (1990).
On “That ’70s Show,” Roberts played the laidback hippie mother of Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon). While she left the show in 2001, she returned in 2004.
Roberts’ final on-screen appearance was in the television series “Barbershop” in 2005.
Britt Ekland, who played a Bond girl in “The Man With The Golden Gun” (1974), tweeted: “Rip Tanya Roberts, once a Bond Girl always a Bond Girl!”
“The Beastmaster” director Don Coscarelli tweeted: “I just heard the sad news that actress Tanya Roberts passed away. Tanya was a beautiful person, inside and out. I will always remember Tanya for being incredibly sweet and for her genuine love of animals. She was beloved by ‘Beastmaster’ fans everywhere. RIP.”