Tanya Roberts, ‘Bond’ Girl and ‘That ’70s Show’ Actress, Dead at 65 (Update)

Update, Jan. 4: Tanya Roberts is not dead, despite what her representatives told TMZ on Sunday. Her husband, Lance, told her rep Roberts’ “opened her eyes” during what he thought were the actress’ last moments. Her rep told TMZ the hospital called Lance Monday morning confirming Roberts was still alive. The original story follows below.

Tanya Roberts, who starred as the Bond girl Stacey Sutton in A View to Kill and played Lara Prepon’s on-screen mother in That ’70s Show, died suddenly on Sunday. She was 65. Roberts’ representative told TMZ the actress collapsed after walking her dog on Christmas Eve and was on a ventilator at a hospital for the past week. Her death was not coronavirus related.

Roberts’ representative said she collapsed at home after walking her dog. She was rushed to a hospital, where she was put on a ventilator. She died on Sunday. In the days before her death, she was “perfectly healthy,” sources told TMZ, even sharing video chats with fans. Roberts was married to Barry Roberts from 1974 until his death in 2006. They did not have any children. She is survived by her second husband, Lance, and sister Barbara Chase.

Roberts was born Victoria Leigh Blum in New York City and started her acting career in New York before moving to Hollywood with her husband in the late 1970s. Her breakthrough role came in 1980 when she was cast to play Julie Rogers in the fifth and final season of Charlie’s Angels. She was cast in several cult classics throughout the 1980s and starred opposite Roger Moore in his final James Bond movie, A View to Kill.

She continued appearing in movies and television regularly through the 1990s. Some of her movie credits include The Beastmaster (1982), Hearts and Armour (1983), Sheena (1984), Night Eyes (1990), and Inner Sanctum (1991). Aside from Charlie’s Angels, she was seen in episodes of The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hot Line, and Silk Stalkings.

For many, Roberts is best known for playing Midge Pinciotti on That ’70s Show from 1998 until 2001. Midge was the mother of Prepon’s Donna and married to Don Pinciotti, played by Don Stark. Although Roberts left after the show’s first three seasons, she returned for guest appearances in Seasons 6 and 7. According to Us Weekly, Roberts left the show to be with her husband as his health declined.

Roberts happily called the Hollywood Hills her home. In a 2015 interview with Closer Weekly, she said living there was “like being in the country, but civilization isn’t far away when I need it.” She and Barry bought the home just before his death and were surprised to see it up for sale when they drove past it. “Barry said, ‘There’s no way that house can be for sale,’” Roberts recalled. “I called the realtor, found out that it was in escrow, and the next day, she called to say the would-be owner used a check they wouldn’t accept — so I got it!”