Tanya Roberts remembered: Her most famous roles

The fantasy heroine

Although Charlie’s Angels ended for Roberts after just one season, the exposure helped catapult her into superstardom. She was cast as Kiri, the main love interest in the 1982 fantasy film The Beastmaster, which also starred ’80s heartthrob Marc Singer. The film did extremely well at the box office (for its time), opening up more film and television opportunities for the actress.

Roberts was then cast as the lead in Sheena, a highly publicized film that was inspired by one of the first solo female comic book characters, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, which eventually became a Marvel Comics property.

Sheena was sort of a female Tarzan, an orphan who was raised by an African tribe who eventually learned that she gained powers from the jungle. Her character was able to communicate with animals and could also shape-shift, and was known as being a warrior that defends all wildlife from eco-terrorists.

The film did poorly at the box office but eventually developed a cult following through the years, no doubt thanks to Sheena’s skimpy fur outfits and early feminist themes.