Tanya Roberts, Bond Girl And ‘Charlie’s Angels’ And ‘That’70s Show’ Star, Dies At 65

Former James Bond girl Tanya Roberts, who is also known for her roles in two television series — the original Charlie’s Angels and sitcom That’70s Show — died on Sunday after collapsing at home following a walk with her dogs on Christmas Eve. She was hospitalized and put on a ventilator, but never recovered. The official cause of death, which was not COVID-19 related, is currently unknown.

Born Victoria Leigh Blum on October 15, 1955 in the Bronx, New York, Tanya Roberts’ was initially a model in various television ads (including Excedrin, Clairol, Ultra Brite and Cool Ray sunglasses). She began as an actress in numerous off-Broadway productions (including Picnic and Antigone), and also supported herself as an Arthur Murray dance instructor. Her film debut was in B-level horror flick Forced Entry in 1975.

Other early film roles include The Yum Yum Girls in 1976; Fingers and Zuma Beach, both in 1978; and Pleasure Cove and Tourist Trap in 1979. After a two-episode stint on Aaron Spelling’s Las Vegas in 1980, Roberts was chosen as the new “Angel,” Julie Rogers, to replace Shelley Hack in the fifth season of the original Charlie’s Angels on ABC in the fall of 1981. But the campy crime solver, also from Aaron Spelling, had run out of gas and was canceled midway through the season.

After a series of TV pilots and a number of TV show guest star appearances (including the original Love Boat and Fantasy Island), Roberts was cast as Stacey Sutton in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, opposite Roger Moore in his last appearance as the iconic British spy.

Her other 1980s film roles included erotic thriller Night Eyes; action movie Body Slam; and Purgatory, a movie about a woman wrongfully imprisoned in Africa.

In 1998, Roberts co-starred on Fox’s That’70s Show as Midge Pinciotti, but exited the sitcom in 2004 to care for her terminally ill husband.