Tanya Roberts died Monday night at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after earlier in the day Roberts’ publicist revealed that he had given an incorrect statement and announced her death prematurely.
Roberts’ publicist, Mike Pingel, confirmed her death to TheWrap via statement. According to the statement, the 65-year-old’s cause of death was from a urinary tract infection that spread to her kidney, gallbladder, liver and then bloodstream.
Roberts’ domestic partner Lance O’Brien received the phone call from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last night at their home confirming her passing. O’Brien told TMZ, Extra and The New York Times that Roberts died Monday evening.
Pingel previously told The New York Times that Roberts was hospitalized and was in grave condition after she collapsed on Christmas Eve while walking her dogs, but he did so after on Sunday giving information to many outlets that Roberts had already died. No cause of death was given, but it was said to not be COVID-19 related. Roberts was not said to be ill before she collapsed.
Pingel told the Times he had relied on information from Roberts’ husband, O’Brien, who believed that he had said his goodbyes and in an interview with Inside Edition learned on camera from the hospital Monday morning that Roberts was still alive.
On Sunday, Roberts’ rep first told TMZ that the actress — best known for her work in the 1985 James Bond film “A View to a Kill” and the sitcom “That ’70s Show” — was walking her dog on Christmas Eve and collapsed shortly after she returned home. She was taken to the hospital and put on a ventilator.
Roberts was 65 years old. She was best known for starring in “A View to Kill” as Bond girl Stacey Sutton and later for her work on the Fox sitcom “That 70s Show,” where she had a recurring role as Midge Pinciotti. She also appeared in cult action-adventure hits such as “Beastmaster” and “Sheena” in the early 1980s.
Born Victoria Leigh Blum in the Bronx, Roberts’ career began when she was a teenager, studying at the Actors Studio and, eventually, modeling in commercials for everything from Ultra Brite toothpaste to Clairol hair products. After moving to Hollywood with her husband in 1977, she appeared in the cult movie “Tourist Trap” and secured roles in several TV pilots that weren’t picked up. Her big break came in 1980 when she was cast in the fifth and final season of ABC’s “Charlie’s Angels,” replacing Shelley Hack.
Leave a Reply