Suzanne Somers.Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
As fans and former costars mourn the loss of Somers, take a look back on her life in photos.
01of 10Suzanne Somers' Early YearsSuzanne Somers in 1974.Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via GettySuzanne Somerswas born on Oct. 16, 1946, in San Bruno, California.One of four children born to gardener Frank Mahoney and wife Marion, Somers was emotionally abused from a young age, according to a 1991 PEOPLE profile that referenced her 1988 book,Keeping Secrets.At age 17 she left home, marrying Bruce Somers and having son Bruce Somers Jr. with him before splitting from her husband and trying her hand at acting.
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Suzanne Somers' Early Years
Suzanne Somers in 1974.Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Suzanne Somerswas born on Oct. 16, 1946, in San Bruno, California.
One of four children born to gardener Frank Mahoney and wife Marion, Somers was emotionally abused from a young age, according to a 1991 PEOPLE profile that referenced her 1988 book,Keeping Secrets.
At age 17 she left home, marrying Bruce Somers and having son Bruce Somers Jr. with him before splitting from her husband and trying her hand at acting.
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Suzanne Somers and Alan Hamel
Suzanne Somers and Alan Hamel.Darlene Hammond/Hulton Archive/Getty
Both were single parents at the time, and blending their families was initially “stepfamily hell,” she told PEOPLE. “As a stepparent I tried too hard.”
Through counseling the family moved forward, raising Bruce Jr. and Hamel’s kids Leslie and Stephen together.
Through the years, Somers frequently opened up about the pair’s relationship, fromtheir healthy sex lifeto theirways of supporting one another.
“If you want to get really lofty, did we know each other in another life? It was that instant,“Somers once told PEOPLE of their connection.
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Suzanne Somers on ‘Three’s Company’
Suzanne Somers on ‘Three’s Company’.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
After scoring a bit part in 1973’sAmerican Graffiti, Somers landed the role of ditzy Chrissy Snow on the hit sitcomThree’s Company,alongside John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt.
“They said, ‘Who do you think you are?’ " Somers recalled to PEOPLE. The move caused Ritter and DeWitt to stop talking to her (they eventually reconciled), and made it hard for her to pick up jobs in the years that followed.
“I realized that I was essentially, unofficially, blackballed from television,” she said.
04of 10Suzanne Somers on ‘She’s the Sheriff’Suzanne Somers on She’s the Sheriff.Lorimar Television/EverettPEOPLE called her next project, the syndicated seriesShe’s the Sheriff,“forgettable.” The show lasted two seasons.‘‘A decade of not being hot was my greatest advantage,’’ the actress later told PEOPLE. ‘‘I’ve done a lot of thinking, a lot of growing up and getting into my marriage and my kids.’’
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Suzanne Somers on ‘She’s the Sheriff’
Suzanne Somers on She’s the Sheriff.Lorimar Television/Everett
Lorimar Television/Everett
PEOPLE called her next project, the syndicated seriesShe’s the Sheriff,“forgettable.” The show lasted two seasons.
‘‘A decade of not being hot was my greatest advantage,’’ the actress later told PEOPLE. ‘‘I’ve done a lot of thinking, a lot of growing up and getting into my marriage and my kids.’’
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“The series couldn’t be more perfect,” she told PEOPLE that same year. “I love coming back to television.”
Her work on the show earned her her second of two People’s Choice Awards.
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Suzanne Somers and the Thighmaster
Suzanne Somers.
As time went on, Somers became as known for her acting as for her health journey, which included dishing cooking advice, writing health books, launchingan organic skincare lineand serving as spokeswoman for the exercise tool the Thighmaster.
07of 10Suanne Somers Poses NudeSuzanne Somers poses nude.Suzanne Somers/InstagramAt age 73, Somers posed in her “birthday suit” on Instagram; years prior, she’d done the same for a 1984 issue ofPlayboy.“Photos of celebrities who’ve taken their clothes off get dragged out every so often. I wanted to set the record straight,” she told PEOPLE that year. After test shots taken of her in 1970 were published years later, to her dismay, “I’ve spent six years on the road staying in shape and I’ve never looked better. I figured as long as there were already nude pictures of me out then, I’d rather have them done right.”
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Suanne Somers Poses Nude
Suzanne Somers poses nude.Suzanne Somers/Instagram
At age 73, Somers posed in her “birthday suit” on Instagram; years prior, she’d done the same for a 1984 issue ofPlayboy.
“Photos of celebrities who’ve taken their clothes off get dragged out every so often. I wanted to set the record straight,” she told PEOPLE that year. After test shots taken of her in 1970 were published years later, to her dismay, “I’ve spent six years on the road staying in shape and I’ve never looked better. I figured as long as there were already nude pictures of me out then, I’d rather have them done right.”
08of 10Suzanne Somers on ‘Dancing with the Stars’Suzanne Somers on Dancing with the Stars.Kelsey McNeal/Disney General Entertainment Content via GettySomers mostly stepped away from acting, though competed on the 20th season ofDancing with the Stars,partnered with Tony Dovolani. The pair finished in 9th place.“My experience had nothing to do with whether I won or not; it had to do with me breaking out of my comfort zone and being challenged in an arena that is totally alien to me,“she wrote for PEOPLE. “I am an entertainer who dances rather than a professional dancer, and I love how much I took on and accomplished.”
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Suzanne Somers on ‘Dancing with the Stars’
Suzanne Somers on Dancing with the Stars.Kelsey McNeal/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Kelsey McNeal/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Somers mostly stepped away from acting, though competed on the 20th season ofDancing with the Stars,partnered with Tony Dovolani. The pair finished in 9th place.
“My experience had nothing to do with whether I won or not; it had to do with me breaking out of my comfort zone and being challenged in an arena that is totally alien to me,“she wrote for PEOPLE. “I am an entertainer who dances rather than a professional dancer, and I love how much I took on and accomplished.”
09of 10Suzanne Somers’ Breast Cancer DiagnosisSuzanne Somers.In 2000, Somers was diagnosed with breast cancer.“Saying the words publicly out loud — ‘I have breast cancer’ — rocked my soul,” she told PEOPLE in 2001. When she was diagnosed, she and Hamel “were silent, hardly talking, in disbelief, like this can’t be happening, wondering is this a little blip or the end of my life?” she recalled.“Health and fitness and strength are my life,” she continued. “I eat well, I don’t drink caffeine, I’ve never smoked, I’ve always exercised. I kept looking at myself and thinking, ‘How could I look so healthy?’ But now that it’s happened, I’m going to turn it into a blessing and gather all the information I can and pass it on, because I realize other women listen to me.“Though surgery and radiation had her on the road to healing, in July 2023, she announced she had been diagnosed once again.“As you know, I had breast cancer two decades ago, and every now and then it pops up again, and I continue to bat it down,“she wrote on Instagram. “I have used the best alternative and conventional treatments to combat it. This is not new territory for me. I know how to put on my battle gear and I’m a fighter.”
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Suzanne Somers’ Breast Cancer Diagnosis
In 2000, Somers was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Saying the words publicly out loud — ‘I have breast cancer’ — rocked my soul,” she told PEOPLE in 2001. When she was diagnosed, she and Hamel “were silent, hardly talking, in disbelief, like this can’t be happening, wondering is this a little blip or the end of my life?” she recalled.
“Health and fitness and strength are my life,” she continued. “I eat well, I don’t drink caffeine, I’ve never smoked, I’ve always exercised. I kept looking at myself and thinking, ‘How could I look so healthy?’ But now that it’s happened, I’m going to turn it into a blessing and gather all the information I can and pass it on, because I realize other women listen to me.”
Though surgery and radiation had her on the road to healing, in July 2023, she announced she had been diagnosed once again.
“As you know, I had breast cancer two decades ago, and every now and then it pops up again, and I continue to bat it down,“she wrote on Instagram. “I have used the best alternative and conventional treatments to combat it. This is not new territory for me. I know how to put on my battle gear and I’m a fighter.”
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Suzanne Somers Dies
Suzanne Somers.Noel Vasquez/Getty Images
On Oct. 15, 2023 — one day before her 77th birthday — Somers died.
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,”Somers’ longtime publicist R. Couri Haywrote in a statement shared on behalf of the actress’ family.
source: people.com
