Joanna Pettet, the London-born actress best known for her roles in The Group and Casino Royale, has died at the age of 83.
Pettet passed away on Tuesday at Temecula Valley Hospital in California, according to her friend and former manager, Pam DuBois. Her death came exactly 31 years after the loss of her son, Damien Cord, who died of a heroin overdose at age 26 in 1995.
Pettet rose to prominence during the 1960s with a series of memorable film performances. In Sidney Lumet’s The Group (1966), adapted from Mary McCarthy’s bestselling novel, she portrayed Kay Strong, one of eight Vassar graduates whose tragic marriage to an abusive playwright ultimately leads to heartbreak. The acclaimed ensemble cast also included Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Shirley Knight, Jessica Walter, Kathleen Widdoes, and Mary-Robin Redd.
The following year, she appeared in the James Bond parody Casino Royale (1967), playing Mata Bond, the daughter of David Niven’s James Bond and the legendary spy Mata Hari. Her colorful dance sequence in a Buddhist-themed temple remains one of the film’s most memorable moments.
Throughout her film career, Pettet also starred in The Night of the Generals (1967), Robbery (1967), and Blue (1968), where she shared the screen with actors including Tom Courtenay, Stanley Baker, and Terence Stamp.
Born Joanna Jane Salmon in London on November 16, 1942, she lost her father, Royal Air Force pilot Harold Salmon, during World War II. Her mother later remarried, and the family settled in Montreal. At just 16 years old, Pettet moved to New York with $1,000 to pursue an acting career. She later recalled that she expected the money to last two years, but it was gone within three months.
She studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse before making her Broadway debut in Take Her, She’s Mine during the 1961-62 season. She later appeared in The Chinese Prime Minister and Poor Richard, earning a Theatre World Award for her performance in the latter after stepping into the production as a last-minute replacement.
Pettet also built an impressive television career. She appeared on Route 66, played a nurse on the daytime drama The Doctors, and portrayed a dancer battling a rare neuromuscular disease on Dr. Kildare. During the 1970s, she became a familiar face in television movies, appeared in the horror films Welcome to Arrow Beach and The Evil, and starred in the NBC miniseries Captains and the Kings.
She made four appearances on Rod Serling’s anthology series Night Gallery and later had a recurring role on Knots Landing as homicide detective Janet Baines during the show’s fourth and fifth seasons.
On August 8, 1969, Pettet visited actress Sharon Tate’s home in Topanga Canyon for a poolside lunch with actress Barbara Lewis, leaving only hours before Tate and four others were murdered by followers of Charles Manson. The visit was later depicted in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where Pettet was portrayed by Rumer Willis.
Her final screen appearance came in the Roger Corman-produced Terror in Paradise (1990), after which she retired from acting.
Beyond her acting career, Pettet had relationships with actors Terence Stamp and Alan Bates. After reconnecting with Bates in 2002, she remained by his side following his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. When he died in 2003, he reportedly left her £95,000 in his will. Reflecting on the gesture, Pettet later said it was deeply touching because he had made sure she would be looked after following his death.
With a career spanning Broadway, Hollywood, and television, Joanna Pettet leaves behind a legacy of memorable performances that continue to be appreciated by audiences decades after her rise to fame.