Beloved London born Hollywood actress Joanna Pettet died on Tuesday July 7 at the age of 83. The sad news was confirmed by her friend, actress Pam DuBois, who revealed the poignantly significant date of her death in a touching Facebook post. Alongside an image of the star at a graveside she wrote: "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. God bless you Jo." No cause of death has been revealed as of yet.
Amongst the stars big screen credits was the role of Mata Bond in the 1967 James Bond satire Casino Royale, loosely based on the first of Ian Fleming's books about the super spy.
She also starred in 1968's Blue opposite Terence Stamp, and 1969's Victorian period comedy The Best House in London.
However she was best known for her extensive work on TV which included roles in Route 66, The Doctors, Dr. Kildare, Mannix, Night Gallery, Thriller, Police Woman, Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Hotel, and Murder, She Wrote.
Her final role was in the 1990 thriller Terror in Paradise, after which she retired from acting although she was only in her 40s.
The death of her only child Damien Zach, at the age 26 on July 7 1995, led her to retreat even further from Hollywood. Although his biological father was actor Terence Stamp, he was given the surname Cord after she married American actor Alex Cord in 1968 three and a half months before his birth.
In recent years she had shared details about abuse she and Damien suffered at the hands of Airwolf actor Alex, who died on August 9, 2021, at the age of 88 at his home in Valley View, Texas.
That same year Joanna suffered horror accident while searching for rocks for her garden in a remote area in Anza, California. According to reports "the earth gave way" and she found herself pinned under a boulder for three hours.
As a result, she needed surgery to replace her shoulder and rotator cuff and spent years recovering from the incident.
