Style Watch PollFashion lookbook

Biography

Suzanne Somers (n?e Suzanne Marie Mahoney) was born in San Bruno, California on October 16th, 1946. She was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, and as a result, had a difficult time with schoolwork. She did, however, excel in artistic expression and dreamed of one day being a star in Hollywood. During her high school years, she immersed herself in the theater program, and later won a music scholarship. She became pregnant shortly after beginning college and married the baby's father, Bruce Somers. Bruce Jr. was born November 1965, but the marriage ended in 1967. After dropping out of college, Somers signed up with a San Francisco modeling agency. Her first break into show business arrived in 1968, when she became the prize girl on Anniversary Game. The game show was hosted by Alan Hamel, whom she married in 1977.

One audition struck gold in 1977 when Somers was cast as the dumbest of dumb blondes Chrissy on the ABC sitcom Three's Company where Somers scored a hit with viewers. This being the Fonzie/Farrah Fawcett Majors era of TV idolatry, Somers was suddenly catapulted into sex-symbol status, with one of her "pin-up" photos selling 500,000 copies. This sudden fame led Somers to insist upon a salary raise - but the producers weren't prepared to pay 100,000 weekly for an actress previously receiving 30,000, nor did they want to give her a percentage of profits.

Somers tried to break her contract, but was held to it by the producers, who forced her into what was virtually an extra role, limiting her weekly appearance to one minute, physically separated from her co-stars. Somers was off the show by 1980, and up until 1986 rarely appeared on television. Instead, Somers found success headlining a Las Vegas show where she pulled down 100,000 for each performance. The comeback began with a 1986 syndicated situation comedy, She's the Sheriff, which lasted two years. In the '90s, Somers began marketing exercise equipment products such as the Thighmaster and Buttmaster, via television infomercials. The products' success have made Somers a millionaire...again.