The actress suddenly collapsed right after she returned home after a dog walk. However, her death was wrongly declared.
As soon as the news of Tanya Roberts' death hit the tabloids, obituaries were printed after her agent Mike Pingel informed the world that she was no more. However, it turned out, the former Bond girl wasn't dead. According to reports, the 65-year-old's agent Mike Pingel mistakingly told the world that Roberts passed away on Sunday, January 3, when she collapsed at her California home after she returned home from a dog walk.
Even her partner of two decades, Lance O'Brien thought that she left him to survive in this world alone until a call gave a new ray of hope - if only for a few hours. He was in the middle of a live interview with Inside Edition when the 62-year-old received a call from the doctor saying that she was alive. He broke down into tears and said, "Now, you are telling me she's alive?"
When the interviewer asks him what is happening, the distraught partner is heard saying, "The hospital is telling me she is alive. They are calling me from the ICU team. I'm so happy." Even though he was happy that Roberts was alright, he added that her condition was "dire."
Revealing more details about Roberts' condition, O'Brien said that doctors weren't confident about the actress's recovery either. "Today the doctors told me that it’s best to let her die and to end her life. She’ll never be the same again, the tubes she has in her are very uncomfortable," according to The Sun.
He further added that her kidneys, liver, and gall bladder were not working. It also led to a terrible blood infection that the doctors assume started because of a urinary tract infection. The hospital also warned Roberts' partner that she won't be with him for long.
The whole confusion started after O'Brien went to visit Roberts at the hospital on Sunday. He revealed, "As I held her in her last moments, she opened her eyes. I was able to see her beautiful eyes one last time. Tanya had the most beautiful eyes. When she saw me and I was there, I saw her eyes open up. I felt good. I said: 'Hey, her eyes are opening. Her eyes are opening.' They told me that's just a reflex." He informed Pingel about it who spread out the wrong statement.
According to The Mirror, the That '70s Show actress's agent confirmed that it was in fact urinary tract infection that spread to her organs. Just 24 hours after the premature announcement of her death, Roberts passed away in the hospital.
"With a heavy heart I can confirm the death of Tanya Roberts (age 65) last night on January 4, 2021 around 9:30pm PT at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA," said Pingel in a statement.
"Her 18-year domestic partner Lance O'Brien received the phone call from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last night at their home confirming her passing. Roberts' cause of death was from a urinary tract infection which spread to her kidney, gallbladder, liver and then blood stream."
"Today, January 5, 2021 at 10:00am PT, O'Brien picked up Roberts' personal possessions from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center," he added. "Roberts was an animal rights activist. In lieu of flowers, they are asking for donations to be given in Roberts name to the ASPCA. An online memorial for Tanya Roberts will be announced shortly. The family ask for privacy as they mourn her death."
Roberts had a three-decade-long career where she made several appearances in films and TV shows, as per The Mirror. Her most memorable role was playing the Bond girl alongside Roger Moore in 1958's A View to a Kill. Before O'Brien, the actress was married to screenwriter Barry Roberts from 1974 until his death in 2006. They never had children.
References:
https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/6372113/bond-tanya-roberts-let-die-mystery-illness-dead/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-tanya-roberts-cause-death-23267953
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-tanya-roberts-dead-bond-23265843
