Tanya Roberts dies at 65 after publicist’s premature death announcement

LOS ANGELES — Tanya Roberts, known for her roles in the the sitcom “That ‘70s Show,” the 1985 James Bond film “A View to a Kill,” and the “Charlie’s Angels” television series, has died one day after her publicist prematurely announced her death, according to multiple reports. She was 65.

Update 12:25 p.m. ET Jan. 5: Actress Tanya Roberts died Monday night in Los Angeles, The New York Times reported, citing her longtime partner, Lance O’Brien.

O’Brien told Fox News that Roberts died after being hospitalized for complications of a urinary tract infection. Roberts’ longtime publicist, Mike Pingel, previously told CNN that Roberts was hospitalized on Christmas Eve after collapsing at her home in California.

Pingel said O’Brien told him that Roberts died on Sunday evening, although he and O’Brien learned on Monday morning that she was still alive, according to CNN.

Update 5:49 p.m. ET Jan. 4: Publicist Mike Pingel told KABC that the “A View to a Kill” and “That ’70s Show” actress is still hospitalized but alive, after collapsing Dec. 24 while walking her dogs.

Pingel told the TV station that he passed along information Sunday he received through Roberts’ boyfriend but has since learned the information was incorrect.

It was not immediately clear how the error occurred.

TMZ was the first outlet to report the mistake.

Original report: Tanya Roberts, who played a Bond girl in “A View to a Kill,” has died.

She may be better known to younger generations as Midge Pinciotti, Donna’s mother, in “That ‘70s Show.”

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Roberts collapsed after walking her dogs on Christmas Eve and was taken to Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. She died Sunday, CNN reported.

Her representative Mike Pingel told The Hollywood Reporter that it was not COVID-19 related, but a cause of death has not been given.

Roberts, who was born Victoria Leigh Blum on Oct. 15, 1955, was a model before breaking into acting, first in advertising, then appearing in the 1975 horror movie “Forced Entry.”

She also appeared in 1977′s “Racquet” and 1982′s “The Beastmaster,” and was the lead in 1984′s “Sheena: Queen of the Jungle.”

In the Bond franchise, Roberts portrayed Stacey Sutton, a geologist targeted by Christopher Walken’s Max Zorin in Roger Moore’s last mission as James Bond in 1985′s “A View to a Kill.”

On the small screen, Roberts joined the cast of “Charlie’s Angels” in the fifth and last season of the show in 1980.

She was a recurring character on “That ‘70s Show,” with her last major credit in “Barbershop: The Series” in 2005, People magazine reported.

While not acting much over the past 15 years, she did still have a faithful following on social media, where she continued to connect with fans during live chats over the past few months.

Roberts is survived by her partner Lance O’Brien, her sister and her pets, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Roberts was 65.

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