Biography of Suzanne Somers

As a comedienne, actress, best selling author, singer, dancer, breast cancer survivor and a speaker on the effects of addictions, Suzanne Somers has emerged as one of television’s most successful and popular personalities. After achieving superstardom in the top rated television comedy Three’s Company, Somers segued to award winning performances on stage, hosted her own daytime talk show, The Suzanne Somers Show and prime time success as star of the hit sitcom, Step by Step.

When Somers was a little girl in San Bruno, California, she dreamed of a career in show business. In her college days, she starred in Guys and Dolls, Gypsy and Oklahoma. One of her most memorable early roles was the mysterious blonde driving the Thunderbird in George Lucas’ American Graffiti.

She moved to Los Angeles soon afterward and was noticed by Johnny Carson during a lunch break at the NBC commissary less than a week after arriving in town. He booked her on The Tonight Show, marking the first of many such appearances.

In 1977, Somers’ portrayal of the ditzy but lovable Chrissy Snow on Three’s Company propelled her to nationwide fame. In her five years with Three’s Company, she helped make it one of the most highly rated television sitcoms of the 1970s.

After departing Three’s Company, she won critical acclaim as a sexy but ruthless screen siren in the 1986 mini series Hollywood Wives. She also hosted Fox’s The Late Show on a rotating basis in 1987, starred in three well received television specials, and was the title character in the syndicated hit series She’s the Sheriff from 1987-89.

For over 20 years, Somers has toured extensively with her nightclub act, and was named Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year in 1986.

As a writer, she first published a lauded book of poems in 1973, Touch Me (Workman Publishing, New York). In 1988, she wrote an autobiography, Keeping Secrets, that was on the New York Times Best Seller List for 21 weeks. The book, relating her story of growing up as the child of an abusive alcoholic and the effects on her life, has become Somers’ trademark. A continuation of this book, entitled After the Fall, was released by Crown Publishers in 1998. Additionally, Somers published Wednesday’s Children in 1992, which discusses adult survivors of abuse, and Suzanne Somers’ Eat Great, Lose Weight in 1997.

Suzanne is married to her manager, Alan Hamel, whom she first met in 1968. They live in Los Angeles and oversee a plethora of ancillary businesses, including Thigh Master Corporation. Somers has also released a health and fitness video package, entitled Somersize.

Somers has received numerous awards and honors for her work with alcohol and substance abuse victims.