Tanya Roberts, the former Bond girl and That 70's Show actress, has died at 65 years old following a premature announcement of her death one day prior. Roberts, who began her career as a model in commercials, starred in various movie and TV roles throughout the '70s before replacing Shelley Hack in the final season of Charlie's Angels in 1980. She went on to star alongside Roger Moore as Bond girl Stacey Sutton in A View to a Kill, which saw Moore's last run as James Bond and Roberts gaining international fame. Roberts later became best known to a new generation of fans as Midge Pinciotti, the ditzy but lovable bombshell mother of Donna (Laura Prepon) in the Fox sitcom That 70's Show. Roberts left the series in 2001 to care for her terminally-ill husband screenwriter Barry Roberts but returned for various guest appearances in the sixth and seventh seasons.
On Christmas Eve, Roberts suddenly collapsed in her home after returning from walking her dogs and was hospitalized and later placed on a ventilator. Roberts' publicist Mike Pingel prematurely broke the news of Roberts' death on January 3 after her partner, Lance O'Brien, mistakenly told Pingel of her passing. However, Pingel announced Monday afternoon that O'Brien received a call from the hospital that morning stating that Roberts was still alive, but in poor condition.
After hours of confusion, O'Brien announced Tuesday that Roberts has died at 65 years old. The actress died Monday night at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles due to complications from a urinary tract infection that entered her kidneys, liver, and gallbladder and spread to her bloodstream.
The misunderstanding over Roberts' death arose from O'Brien visiting Roberts in the hospital Sunday after he received a call that she was close to death. O'Brien left the hospital Sunday believing that she was dead after he saw her eyes close for what he thought was the last time, and, after telling Pingel, the news of her death was mistakenly reported.
After major media outlet falsely reported on Roberts' death Monday, fans and former co-workers were paying tribute to the actress on social media. However, when news broke that she was still alive, Ashton Kutcher took to Twitter to correct his That 70's Show co-stars Topher Grace and Debra Jo Rupp on their posts that were mourning her. After hours of confusing and tragically wrong information, Roberts, who was born Victoria Leigh Blum, passed away on January 4 at 65 years old. Her fans will always remember the actress for her iconic television and film roles.
R.I.P. Tanya Roberts: October 15, 1955 - January 4, 2021
Source: Page Six