~Tanya Roberts~
Born Victoria Leigh Blum on October 15th, 1955, in the Bronx, New York, Tanya came from modest beginnings in the Bronx, the daughter of a pen salesman (Irish) and a Jewish mother (who were divorced before she reached high school). She dropped out of high school at age 15, got married, and hitchhiked around the country until her husband's mother had the marriage annulled. She met psychology student, Barry Roberts, in a New York movie line. A few months later she proposed to him in a subway station, and they were married. She begun studying at the Actors' Studio, nothing less, with Lee Strasberg, all the while shooting TV ads (for Clairol and Ultra Brite) and making her off-Broadway debut in Antigone, not your typical lightweight bedroom farce.
She made her film debut in 1975 in FORCED ENTRY, followed by THE YUM-YUM GIRLS in 1976 and FINGERS soon after. Tanya and Barry moved to California in 1977 to pursue their respective careers. Tanya had the opportunity to appear in several pilots for TV series: Pleasure Cove, Zuma Beach (co-written by HALLOWEEN director John Carpenter) and Waikiki. Sadly, these projects were never developed as full series. In 1979, Tanya was hired for the horror picture TOURIST TRAP starring Chuck Connors. Out of 2000 hopeful young women, Tanya was picked to play Julie Rogers, the last Angel for Charlie's Angels(1976) (TV) in the final season.
Tanya's presence was not enough to save the show, but at least, Tanya successfully made a name for herself and got the attention of some producers for more high-profile projects, the first being THE BEASTMASTER (by Don Coscarelli, creator of the PHANTASM franchise). THE BEASTMASTER enjoyed good publicity. Tanya was featured on the cover and inside of the Oct. 1982 issue of _Playboy_ to promote Beastmaster, The (1982).Tanya next joined in an Italian production, HEARTS AND ARMOR, an adventure film not very well-known in North America but worth the look. Next, an important role came her way: Mike Hammer's secretary in a potential new TV series about the immortal detective, played by Stacy Keach. Tanya can be seen in the pilot, but declined to go further, preferring to concentrate on the role that could make her a big star: Sheena Queen of the Jungle, after she personally sought out the part. SHEENA was a commercial flop and named one of the top movie turkey of the year 1984. She was cast in the next James Bond adventure, tired Roger Moore's last picture in the series, A VIEW TO A KILL in 1985. Again, it was a bitter disappointment, as Tanya was perceived as a wimpy heroine. She was cast of Fox's That 70's Show, playing a none-too-bright housewife, as it was time that she left sordid and repetitive stories. Tanya continued to appear in films, which primarily go directly to video and cable release. She was featured in the CD computer game The Pandora Directive, (1996).
