Suzanne Somers, the effervescent blonde actor known for playing Chrissy Snow on the television show 鈥淭hree鈥檚 Company鈥� 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.
鈥淗er family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th,鈥� the statement read. 鈥淚nstead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.鈥�
In July, Somers shared on Instagram that her breast cancer had returned.
鈥淟ike any cancer patient, when you get that dreaded, 鈥業t鈥檚 back鈥� you get a pit in your stomach. Then I put on my battle gear and go to war,鈥� she told Entertainment Tonight at the time. 鈥淭his is familiar battleground for me and I鈥檓 very tough.鈥�
She was first diagnosed in 2000, and had previously battled skin cancer. Somers faced some backlash for her reliance on what she鈥檚 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 鈥淭he Oprah Winfrey Show,鈥� 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, she鈥檇 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 鈥淭he Anniversary Game鈥� 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 鈥淏ullitt.鈥� But the spotlight really hit when she was cast as the blonde driving the white Thunderbird in George Lucas鈥檚 1973 film 鈥淎merican Graffiti.鈥� Her only line was mouthing the words 鈥淚 love you鈥� to Richard Dreyfuss鈥檚 character.
At her audition, Lucas just asked her if she could drive. She later said that moment 鈥渃hanged her life forever.鈥�
Somers would later stage a one-woman Broadway show entitled 鈥淭he Blonde in the Thunderbird,鈥� about her life, which drew largely scathing reviews.
She appeared in many television shows in the 1970s, including 鈥淭he Rockford Files,鈥� 鈥淢agnum Force鈥� and 鈥淭he Six Million Dollar Man,鈥� but her most famous part came with 鈥淭hree鈥檚 Company,鈥� which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984 鈥� though her participation ended in 1981.
On 鈥淭hree鈥檚 Company,鈥� she was the ditzy blonde opposite John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt in the roommate comedy.
鈥淐reating her was actually intellectual,鈥� she told CBS News in 2020. 鈥淗ow do I make her likable and loveable ... dumb blondes are annoying. I gave her a moral code. I imagined it was the childhood I would鈥檝e liked to have had.鈥�
In 1980, after four seasons, she said she asked for a raise from $30,000 an episode to $150,000 an episode, which she described as comparable to what Ritter was getting paid. Hamel, a former television producer, had encouraged the ask.
鈥淭he show鈥檚 response was, 鈥榃ho do you think you are?鈥欌�� Somers told People in 2020. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥楯ohn Ritter is the star.鈥欌��
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 didn鈥檛 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 鈥淭highMaster.鈥�
The decade also saw her return to network television in the 1990s, most famously on 鈥淪tep by Step,鈥� which aired on ABC鈥檚 youth-targeted TGIF lineup. The network also aired a biopic of her life, starring her, called 鈥淜eeping Secrets.鈥�
Somers was also a prolific author, writing books on aging, menopause, beauty, wellness, sex and cancer.
She was in good spirits and surrounded by family before her death, even giving an interview to People Magazine about her birthday plans to be with her 鈥渘earest and dearest.鈥�
Hamel, in the People story, said she鈥檇 just returned from the Midwest where she had six weeks of intensive physical therapy.
鈥淓ven after our five decades together, I still marvel at Suzanne鈥檚 amazing determination and commitment,鈥� Hamel said.
She told the magazine that she had asked for 鈥渃opious amounts of cake.鈥�
鈥淚 really love cake,鈥� she said.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
