FORMER Bond Girl and That ‘70s Show actress, Tanya Roberts, has passed away on Sunday. She was 65.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Roberts was admitted to Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on December 24, after collapsing while out walking her dogs.
“"I'm devastated. She was brilliant and beautiful, and I feel like a light has been taken away. To say she was an angel would be at the top of the list,” said long-time friend and rep Mike Pingel.
Born Victoria Leigh Blum, Roberts had a career modelling and appearing in television advertisements before turning to film acting in 1975 with the horror flick Forced Entry.
Roberts' most notable major film role was in the 1985 Bond film A View to a Kill. The film, which was to be Roger Moore's last film as 007, saw Roberts play Stacey Sutton, an American geologist who becomes a target of villain Max Zorin played by Christopher Walken.
She felt the Bond movie movie didn't take off as she had hoped and in recent interviews, Roberts has discussed the so-called "curse" of being a Bond girl.
"I sort of felt like every girl who'd ever been a Bond Girl had seen their career go nowhere, so I was a little cautious," Roberts told the Daily Mail in 2015.
Roberts also found success in television. She played an Angel in ABC's Charlie's Angels, replacing Shelley Hack, to appear as Julie Rogers in the fifth and final season of the show in 1980.
She also appeared in episodes of Fantasy Island and Love Boat.
Her television career took off in the 90s just as the movie roles dried up. Modern audience knew her through her recurring supporting role in Fox's That '70s Show, in which she played Midge Pinciotti, Donna's dim-witted mother.
Though her last notable television was in Showtime's Barbershop: The Series in 2005, Roberts had a loyal following and spent a great deal of time communicating with fans, including a series of live chats during the pandemic.
Roberts is survived by her partner of 18 years Lance O'Brien, her sister Barbara and her beloved pet animals. – The Vibes, January 4, 2021
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