Bond girl Tanya Roberts dies at 65 after premature death announcement
Ji Suk Yi and Haley Townsend
"Golden Gate Cop Killer" - Airdate March 19, 1980. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - DECEMBER 01: CHARLIE'S ANGELS - gallery - Season Five - 12/1/80 Tanya Roberts (Julie), Jaclyn Smith (Kelly), Cheryl Ladd (Kris) (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 28: CHARLIE'S ANGELS - "Hula Angels" - Season Five - 11/28/80 Tanya Roberts. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - APRIL 05: Vega$ - "Golden Gate Cop Killer" 3/19/80 Tanya Roberts (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
FILE - Tanya Roberts stars as Kiri in the adventure movie "The Beastmaster," on Dec. 16, 1981. Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and had roles on “Charlie’s Angels” and “That ’70s Show,” died Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. She was 65. Her death was announced by her publicist. No cause of death was given. (AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)
FILE - Actor Roger Moore, right, poses with his co-star Tanya Roberts from the James Bond film "A View to a Kill," outside of Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, France on Aug. 17, 1984. Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and had roles on “Charlie’s Angels” and “That ’70s Show,” died Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. She was 65. Her death was announced by her publicist. No cause of death was given. (AP Photo/Alexis Duclos, File)
UNITED STATES - JANUARY 11: CHARLIE'S ANGELS - "Hula Angels" - Season Five - 1/11/81 Julie (Tanya Roberts) and Kris (Cheryl Ladd) audition as hula dancers, and Bosley (David Doyle) and Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) figure out why a successful club owner and his wife, who can't come up with his ransom, are lacking cash. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 04: CHARLIE'S ANGELS - "Stuntwomen Angels" - Season Five - 2/4/81 Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd, and Tanya Roberts (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
FILE - Actress Tanya Roberts poses for photos at the grand opening of the musical comedy "The Producers" at the Paris hotel-casino in Las Vegas on Feb. 9, 2007. Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and had roles on “Charlie’s Angels” and “That ’70s Show,” died Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. She was 65. Her death was announced by her publicist. No cause of death was given. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 26: Actress Tanya Roberts arrives at Norby Walters' 22nd Annual Night Of 100 Stars Viewing Gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel on February 26, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
Tanya Roberts was also an animal rights activist, pictured here with dogs Muttley and Socks. (Courtesy: Mike Pingel, RainbowPR)
Tanya Roberts was also an animal rights activist. (Courtesy: Mike Pingel, RainbowPR)
3 / 12
LOS ANGELES (NewsNationNow) — Bond girl, “Charlie’s Angels” and “That ’70s Show” star Tanya Roberts has died, several hours after she was mistakenly declared dead by her publicist and her partner. She was 65.
Lance O’Brien, her companion of nearly two decades, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Cedars-Sinai Medical Center reached out to him on Monday at 9:30 p.m. PST to inform him that Roberts had passed away.
“She was my soulmate, she was my best friend. We haven’t been apart for two days” in their years together, a tearful O’Brien said.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 26: Actress Tanya Roberts arrives at Norby Walters’ 22nd Annual Night Of 100 Stars Viewing Gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel on February 26, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
Roberts’ death was related to a urinary tract infection, publicist Mike Pingel said. He had been at the hospital Tuesday morning with O’Brien to pick up Roberts’ personal effects.
Roberts collapsed at home on Dec. 24 after walking her dogs and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai. She had been reported dead on Sunday, but Pingel said that was based on a mistake by O’Brien, who believed Roberts had slipped away during what was expected to be a final visit.
Numerous outlets, including NewsNation, reported Roberts’ death Monday, based on information Pingel received from O’Brien.
O’Brien, who’d been unable to see Roberts in the hospital because of COVID-19 restrictions, was allowed to visit Sunday as her condition worsened. The actor did not have the virus, he said.
When he got the call Sunday that she was failing, O’Brien said he was “emotionally shocked because I was expecting her to come home.”
One of Roberts’ highest-profile roles was playing geologist Stacey Sutton opposite Roger Moore in 1985′s “A View to a Kill.”
Roberts also appeared in such fantasy adventure films as “The Beastmaster” and “Hearts and Armour.” She replaced Shelly Hack in “Charlie’s Angels,” joining Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd as third Angel Julie. She also played comic book heroine Sheena — a female version of the Tarzan story — in a 1984 film.
A new generation of fans saw her on “That ’70s Show,” playing Midge, mother to Laura Prepon’s character Donna.
