On Sunday January 3, news broke that actress Tanya Roberts had died, but the announcement turned out to be premature — the That 70’s Show star was still alive at the time. Roberts officially passed away Monday evening, but confusion remains about the exact timeline of her death.
In late December, Roberts was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in critical condition after collapsing during a routine walk with her dogs. She remained in the facility for weeks until her partner Lance O'Brien claimed to have received a call from doctors saying that Roberts had died on Sunday. O’Brien said that he saw assumed that his partner was dead after seeing her “fade away” during a hospital visit. He then contacted his Roberts’ publicist Mike Pingel to share that she was dead, and Pingel then broke the news to TMZ.
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However, doctors at Cedars-Sinai has a different report; Roberts remained in serious condition at the hospital but did not die on Sunday. O’Brien learned of the shocking update during a virtual interview with Inside Edition.
"The hospital is telling me she is alive,” he cried mid-interview. “They are calling me from the ICU team!"
On Twitter, her co-star Ashton Kutcher informed his former 70's Show co-star Topher Grace that Roberts was still alive by responding to Grace's tweet.
yo bro she's not dead
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) January 5, 2021
Unfortunately, Roberts reportedly passed away on Monday night, her death confirmed by one of her Cedars-Sinai doctors in a phone call to O'Brien.
The late actress was well known for starring on That 70’s Show as Donna Pinciotti's (Laura Prepone) popular mom, Midge. She had a flourishing entertainment career years before appearing on the show; in addition to modeling for Playboy, Roberts starred in the first season of Charlie's Angels as well as in a Bond movie (A View to a Kill).