Actor Tanya Roberts, known for playing Stacey Sutton in the 1985 James Bond film “A View to a Kill” and Midge Pinciotti on “That ’70s Show” between 1998 and 2004, has died. She was 65.
Roberts was out walking her dogs on Christmas Eve when she collapsed. She was admitted to the Cedars-Sinai hospital where she died. The cause of death is not understood to be related to COVID-19.
“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. She was the sweetest person you’d ever meet and had a huge heart. She loved her fans, and I don’t think she realized how much she meant to them,” Roberts’ representative and friend Mike Pingel told Variety sister publication The Hollywood Reporter.
Born Victoria Leigh Blum, Roberts had a successful modelling career and appeared in some off-Broadway roles. She made her film debut in 1975 with “The Last Victim.” Thereafter, she appeared in a series of films that attained cult status, including “The Beastmaster” (1982), “Sheena: Queen of the Jungle” (1984), “Body Slam” (1987) and “Night Eyes” (1990).
On “That ’70s Show,” Roberts played the laidback hippie mother of Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon). While she left the show in 2001, she returned in 2004.
Roberts’ final on-screen appearance was in the television series “Barbershop” in 2005.
Britt Ekland, who played a Bond girl in “The Man With The Golden Gun” (1974), tweeted: “Rip Tanya Roberts, once a Bond Girl always a Bond Girl!”
Rip Tanya Roberts, once a Bond Girl always a Bond Girl!
— Britt Ekland (@BrittEkland) January 4, 2021
“The Beastmaster” director Don Coscarelli tweeted: “I just heard the sad news that actress Tanya Roberts passed away. Tanya was a beautiful person, inside and out. I will always remember Tanya for being incredibly sweet and for her genuine love of animals. She was beloved by Beastmaster fans everywhere. RIP.”
I just heard the sad news that actress Tanya Roberts passed away.
Tanya was a beautiful person, inside and out. I will always remember Tanya for being incredibly sweet and for her genuine love of animals. She was beloved by Beastmaster fans everywhere. RIP. pic.twitter.com/JvqJg2rEAj
— Don Coscarelli (@DonCoscarelli) January 4, 2021