Actor Tanya Roberts, best known for the James Bond film “A View to a Kill” and television’s “That ’70s Show,” died on Monday night a day after her passing was incorrectly reported, her publicist and partner said.
Roberts, 65, passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the actress’ long-time partner, Lance O’Brien, and her spokesman Mike Pingel both told NBC News on Tuesday.
Pingel had alerted several news outlets Sunday that Roberts had died. But it turned out she was still alive and Pingel was unintentionally relaying incorrect information from O’Brien, according to the publicist.
O’Brien was speaking to the syndicated television show “Inside Edition” on Monday morning when Cedars-Sinai called and interrupted the interview to inform him Roberts was still alive.
“Now you’re telling me that she’s alive?” O’Brien can be heard saying on the show. “Thank the Lord. Thank God.”
Roberts was out walking her dogs when she collapsed on Christmas Eve, leading her to be admitted to Cedars-Sinai. Roberts was being treated for a urinary tract infection that spread to her kidneys and gall bladder, O’Brien told NBC News.
Born Victoria Leigh Blum on Oct. 15, 1955, Roberts enjoyed a successful modeling career and appeared in off-Broadway roles before hitting it big on the silver and small screens.
She made her film debut in 1975 with “The Last Victim” and thereafter had credits in a series of cult films such as “The Beastmaster” (1982), “Sheena: Queen of the Jungle” (1984), “Body Slam” (1987) and “Night Eyes” (1990).
Many TV fans will best remember her for one season (1980-81) of “Charlie’s Angels” when she played private detective Julie Rogers. She was the sixth actress to play one of the female crime fighters, following in the footsteps of Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd and Shelley Hack.
In the 1985 Bond movie, “A View to a Kill,” she played the role of geologist Stacey Sutton, who teams up with the British spy to stop a madman played by Christopher Walken.
On “That ’70s Show,” Roberts was the laidback hippie mother of Donna Pinciotti, played by Laura Prepon. She left the show in 2001 but returned in 2004.
Roberts’ most recent onscreen appearance was in the television series “Barbershop” in 2005.
Variety contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
