Suzanne Somers, the effervescent blonde actor known for playing Chrissy Snow on the television show 91ƵThree91Ƶs Company91Ƶ and who became an entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author, has died. She was 76.
Somers had breast cancer for over 23 years and died Sunday morning, her family said in a statement provided by her longtime publicist, R. Couri Hay. Her husband Alan Hamel, her son Bruce and other immediate family were with her in Palm Springs, California.
91ƵHer family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th,91Ƶ the statement read. 91ƵInstead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.91Ƶ
In July, Somers shared on Instagram that her breast cancer had returned.
91ƵLike any cancer patient, when you get that dreaded, 91ƵIt91Ƶs back91Ƶ you get a pit in your stomach. Then I put on my battle gear and go to war,91Ƶ she told Entertainment Tonight at the time. 91ƵThis is familiar battleground for me and I91Ƶm very tough.91Ƶ
She was first diagnosed in 2000, and had previously battled skin cancer. Sommers faced some backlash for her reliance on what she91Ƶs described as a chemical-free and organic lifestyle to combat the cancers. She argued against the use of chemotherapy, in books and on platforms like 91ƵThe Oprah Winfrey Show,91Ƶ which drew criticism from the American Cancer Society.
Somers was born in 1946 in San Bruno, California, to a gardener father and a medical secretary mother. Her childhood, she91Ƶd later say, was tumultuous. Her father was an alcoholic, and abusive. She married young, at 19, to Bruce Somers, after becoming pregnant with her son Bruce. The couple divorced three years later and she began modeling for 91ƵThe Anniversary Game91Ƶ to support herself. It was during this time that she met Hamel, who she married in 1977.
She began acting in the late 1960s, earning her first credit in the Steve McQueen film 91ƵBullitt.91Ƶ But the spotlight really hit when she was cast as the blonde driving the white Thunderbird in George Lucas91Ƶs 1973 film 91ƵAmerican Graffiti.91Ƶ Her only line was mouthing the words 91ƵI love you91Ƶ to Richard Dreyfuss91Ƶs character.
At her audition, Lucas just asked her if she could drive. She later said that moment 91Ƶchanged her life forever.91Ƶ
Somers would later stage a one-woman Broadway show entitled 91ƵThe Blonde in the Thunderbird,91Ƶ about her life, which drew largely scathing reviews.
She appeared in many television shows in the 1970s, including 91ƵThe Rockford Files,91Ƶ 91ƵMagnum Force91Ƶ and 91ƵThe Six Million Dollar Man,91Ƶ but her most famous part came with 91ƵThree91Ƶs Company,91Ƶ which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984 91Ƶ though her participation ended in 1981.
On 91ƵThree91Ƶs Company,91Ƶ she was the ditzy blonde opposite John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt in the roommate comedy. In 1980, after four seasons, she asked for a raise from $30,000 an episode to $150,000 an episode, which would have been comparable to what Ritter was getting paid. Hamel, a former television producer, had encouraged the ask.
91ƵThe show91Ƶs response was, 91ƵWho do you think you are?91Ƶ91Ƶ Somers told People in 2020. 91ƵThey said, 91ƵJohn Ritter is the star.91Ƶ91Ƶ
She was promptly phased out and soon fired; Her character was replaced by two different roommates for the remaining years the show aired. It also led to a rift with her co-stars; They didn91Ƶt speak for many years. Somers did reconcile with Ritter before his death, and then with DeWitt on her online talk show.
But Somers took the break as an opportunity to pursue new avenues, including a Las Vegas act, hosting a talk show and becoming an entrepreneur. In the 1990s, she also became the spokesperson for the 91ƵThighMaster.91Ƶ
The decade also saw her return to network television in the 1990s, most famously on 91ƵStep by Step,91Ƶ which aired on ABC91Ƶs youth-targeted TGIF lineup. The network also aired a biopic of her life, starring her, called 91ƵKeeping Secrets.91Ƶ
Somers was also a prolific author, writing books on aging, menopause, beauty, wellness, sex and cancer.