Suzanne Somers attends Clive Davis’ 90th birthday celebration at Casa Cipriani on April 6, 2022 in New York. Somers died Sunday at the age of 76, her publicist said.
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Suzanne Somers attends Clive Davis’ 90th birthday celebration at Casa Cipriani on April 6, 2022 in New York. Somers died Sunday at the age of 76, her publicist said.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Suzanne Somers, best known for her role in television sitcoms The Company of Three And Step by stepdied at age 76.
The actor died early Sunday, on the eve of his 77th birthday, after living with breast cancer for more than two decades, according to Somers’ publicist, R. Couri Hay.
“Suzanne was surrounded by her beloved husband Alan, her son Bruce and her immediate family,” Hay said in a statement. “His family was gathered to celebrate his 77th birthday on October 16. Instead, they will celebrate his extraordinary life and want to thank his millions of fans and followers who loved him dearly.”
Somers leveraged her fame to launch a successful business career centered around wellness. She became the spokesperson for ThighMaster, a leg toning product. She is the author of 27 books, largely on the topic of natural health, according to her publicist’s website.
She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. Her approach to health sparked controversy at the time, when she decided to forgo chemotherapy and embrace alternative remedies.
In July, she announced that she had been privately dealing with cancer since her initial diagnosis.
“As you know, I had breast cancer twenty years ago, and every now and then it comes back, and I continue to fight it,” Somers said in an Instagram post. “I have used the best alternative and conventional treatments to fight it. This is not new territory for me. I know how to put on my combat gear and I am a fighter.”
Somers first gained attention for his role driving a white Thunderbird in the George Lucas film. American graffiti in 1973. His only words were uttering the words “I love you” to Richard Dreyfuss’ character, the Associated Press reported. She later said the role “changed her life forever,” the AP reported.
She earned numerous television and film credits in the 1970s, but became best known as one of the stars of The Company of Three from 1977 to 1981, approximately two women and one man living as roommates. She played the stereotypical “dumb blonde”, Chrissy Snow.
“Creating her was actually intellectual. How to make her likable and likeable… Stupid blondes are boring. I gave her a moral code. I imagined that was the childhood I wish I had,” said she told CBS in 2020.
She told the network that she was fired from the show “for having the audacity to ask to be paid as much as men. They earned 10 to 15 times more and [co-star] John [Ritter] I earned a lot more than I did.”
Her longest-serving role was that of mother in a blended family on Step by step. The series lasted from 1991 to 1998.
A private family funeral will be held this week, with a memorial to follow next month, his publicist Hay said.
James Doubek contributed reporting.