Joanna Pettet, the acclaimed actress best remembered for her roles in The Group and the James Bond parody Casino Royale, has died at the age of 83. She passed away on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at Temecula Valley Hospital in California. A cause of death has not yet been announced.
Her longtime friend and former manager Pam DuBois confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter. In a heartfelt Facebook post, DuBois reflected on the timing of Pettet’s passing, noting that it came exactly 31 years after the death of her son Damien Cord. “We all loved Jo — but there was one person who loved her more. And yesterday on the 31st anniversary of his death, Damien Zach took his mother to heaven and there she will stay with him forever,” DuBois wrote.
Early Life and Rise to Fame
Born in London in 1942, Pettet was raised in Montreal after losing her father in World War II. At 16, she moved to New York City to study acting, quickly making her mark on Broadway before transitioning to film. Her breakout role came in Sidney Lumet’s The Group (1966), where she starred alongside Candice Bergen and Jessica Walter. The following year, she appeared in The Night of the Generals, Robbery, and Casino Royale, playing Mata Bond, the daughter of James Bond and Mata Hari.
Television and Later Career
Pettet’s career spanned film and television, with appearances in Blue (1968), Night Gallery, Fantasy Island, and Knots Landing. In 1984, she even played herself in The Fall Guy during a James Bond tribute episode. Her final screen credit was Terror in Paradise (1990), after which she retired from acting.
Personal Life and Tragedies
Beyond her career, Pettet’s life was marked by both glamour and tragedy. She was married to actor Alex Cord from 1968 to 1989, with whom she shared her son Damien. She was also romantically linked to actors Terence Stamp and Alan Bates. In 2002, she rekindled her relationship with Bates, who left her an inheritance upon his death the following year.
Pettet’s legacy endures not only through her work but also through her connections to Hollywood history. She was with Sharon Tate for lunch on August 8, 1969, just hours before Tate was murdered by the Manson family. Decades later, she was portrayed by Rumer Willis in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.
Remembering a Golden Era Star
Joanna Pettet leaves behind a body of work that captured both the elegance and complexity of her era, remembered fondly by colleagues, friends, and fans alike. Her death marks the loss of another link to Hollywood’s golden age.
