Tanya Roberts, Bond girl and ‘70s Show’ star, dies at 65, after premature death announcement

LOS ANGELES - Tanya Roberts, who captivated James Bond in "A View to a Kill" and later played Midge Pinciotti in the sitcom "That ’70s Show," died Monday night after being hospitalized following a fall at her home. The news came after the actor had prematurely been reported dead by her publicist. 

Tanya Roberts; The Hollywood Collectors & Celebrities Show ; Held at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic)

Roberts’ publicist Mike Pingel told The Associated Press Monday afternoon that Roberts, 65, was still alive as of 10 a.m. PST but was in a poor condition. He had said earlier that Roberts collapsed in her home on Dec. 24 and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was believed to have died on Sunday.

Pingel said Robert’s longtime partner, Lance O’Brien, told him that he held Roberts and that she "seemed for him to slip away." That conversation led to the premature death announcement, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.  

According to TMZ, O'Brien got a call from the hospital on Monday morning, saying that the actor was still alive. But TMZ then later reported that O’Brien got a call from one of Roberts' doctors on Monday night, notifying him that Roberts had died.  

O’Brien, who’d been unable to see Roberts in the hospital because of COVID-19 restrictions, was allowed to visit Sunday for a last goodbye, Pingel said. The actor did not have the virus, he said.

Multiple media outlets, including the AP, prematurely reported on Roberts’ death and had been updating the developments on Tuesday. 

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 Shelley 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.

KTVU contributed to this story.