Suzanne Marie Somers was a popular Actress, singer, writer, and entrepreneur. She is best known for her role as Chrissy Snow on Three’s Company which was telecast from 1977 to 1981. Another popular role she enacted was of Carol Foster Lambert on Step by Step from 1991 to 1998.

She was also a prolific writer and wrote a number of books. It included two autobiographies, four nutrition and diet-related books, and also a collection of poetry. Her book Ageless: ”The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones” created a lot of controversy, especially the views on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and unproven treatments for women who had attained menopause. Her book “Knockout” released in 2009 also contained alternative cancer treatments and was widely criticized by the medical fraternity.

Suzanne Marie Mahoney was born in San Bruno, California on October 16, 1946, to Francis Mahoney and Marion Elizabeth. Her mother worked as a medical secretary, and her father was a laborer and gardener. The family was of Irish-American Catholic origin and was economically underprivileged. Her father was an alcoholic and abusive and Suzanne had to bear the brunt of his father’s abusive behavior.

Suzanne was suffering from dyslexia and this led to problems in achieving her tasks in school. Her father’s late-night outbursts meant that she was deprived of sleep and often slept in her classroom. She was also once expelled for writing lewd messages which were never sent to a boy. Suzanne graduated from Capuchino High School in San Bruno, California, and also was awarded the “Best Doll Award” for her role in the senior musical, Guys and Dolls in the school’s ball.

Somers joined Lone Mountain College but dropped out when she learned she was pregnant in 1965. At the age of 19, she married the father of the child she was carrying but was always depressed and had a deep feeling of low self-esteem. She was also once arrested for fraud and her car was also confiscated.

Suzanne Somers Acting Career: Movies and TV Shows She Appeared In

Suzanne Somers’ first marriage did not last long and ended in divorce in 1968. To meet her ends she worked as a prize model on “The Anniversary Game”, a game show hosted by Alan Hamel. Alan was a married man but the two were attracted and in 1977 they married.

Suzanne Somers started her career with small roles which continued from the 1960’s to the early 70’s. She did small roles which included as the “Blonde in the white Thunderbird” in American Graffiti, as a ravishing dame in the sitcom “Lotsa Luck”, in The Rockford Files in 1974, in “Magnum Force” in 1973. However, her real break came in the form of “Chrissy Snow”, an epitome of blonde stereotypes.

Her first compensation was $3,500 per week from the show. The series also co-starred John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. The series became immensely popular and also led to the spawning of numerous clones based on the same theme.

In the fifth season of the show, Somers demanded a salary hike from $30,000 to $150,000 per episode to become at par with what was paid to Ritter, She also demanded a 10% share in the profits. ABC was only willing to offer a $5,000 per episode raise. Hence Somers did not appear in the second and fourth episodes even though her contract was not canceled. However, the length of her role was drastically reduced to just sixty seconds. Later ABC fired Somers and rescinded her contract.

It was followed by a lawsuit filed against ABC by Somers but the lawsuit generally favored the producers and concluded that Somers was owed only $30,000, due to a single missed episode for which she had not been paid.

In 1983, Suzanne Somers and her Hamel/Somers Productions inked a deal with Columbia Pictures Television in 1983

She starred in the sitcom “She’s the Sheriff” from 1987 to 89 and the show ran for two seasons. It portrayed a widow whose late husband was a Sheriff and she decided to don her husband’s uniform. She also appeared in numerous guest roles in the 90’s mainly on ABC TV movies.

Her new series sitcom “Step By Step” also co-starring Patrick Duffy became a big success on ABC’s youth-oriented TGIF lineup. Her biopic based on her first Autobiography with Somers in the title role was broadcast on ABC in 1991. She also appeared in the daytime talk show titled “Suzanne Somers”, which lasted one season.

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Playboy Controversy

Somers was featured nude twice on Playboy cover, once in 1980 and then in 1984. The first set of nude pictures was taken when she was a struggling model by Stan Malinowski in February 1970. It was a test photoshoot for the magazine and Somers was selected as a Playmate candidate but she refused to pose nude.

In an appearance on The Tonight Show in 1980, she denied ever posing nude. Playboy seized the opportunity and published pictures from the 1970 Malinowski shoot, without her permission. Somers was in dire need of money and this prompted her to do the shoot with Stan Malinowski. Somers sued Playboy and settled for $50,000.

The second set of nude pictures appeared in the December 1984 edition of Playboy. Playboy had approached Somers who was first angered by the offer but agreed since she felt she would have a better chance of controlling the quality and content of the pictures

Who is Suzanne Somers Husband?

Suzanne Somers’s first husband was named Bruce Somers and the duo married in 1965 and the couple had a son. The marriage did not last and ended in divorce in 1968. Later Somers started working as a prize model on “The Anniversary Game”, a game show hosted by Alan Hamel. Alan was a married man but the two were attracted and in 1977 they married.

How Did Suzanne Somers Pass Away? Cause of her death

Somers suffered from a number of ailments and in 2001 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent lumpectomy and radiation but refused to go for chemotherapy. Somers opted for alternative cancer treatments, for which she was criticized by the American Cancer Society. In July 2023, her cancer returned and she breathed her last at her home in Palm Springs, California, on October 15, 2023, the day before her 77th birthday

How many children does Suzanne Somers have?

Somers has one son from her first marriage with Bruce Somer named Bruce Jr. born in November 1965. Somers had three granddaughters, Camelia and Violet Somers, and Daisy Hamel-Buffa from her second marriage with Alan Hamel.

How Much was Suzanne Somers’ Net Worth?

According to Parade.com, At the time of her death in October 2023, Suzanne Somers’ net worth was estimated at $100 million. Most of her earnings were from her appearances on TV, as an actor-writer, and later from her production house which she had started with her husband.

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