suzanne somers

Suzanne Somers in 2008 Born Suzanne Marie Mahoney

October 16, 1946 (1946-10-16) (age 62)

San Bruno, California Spouse(s) Alan Hamel (1977–present)

Bruce Somers (1965–1968) Official website

Suzanne Somers (born October 16, 1946) is an American actress, author, and businesswoman. Best known for her role as the ditzy blonde Chrissy Snow on the ABC sitcom Three's Company, she also had a noted starring role on the sitcom Step by Step as Carol Foster Lambert. She later capitalized on her acting career by also establishing herself as an author of a series of self-help books. She has released two autobiographies, two self-help books, four diet books, a book of poetry entitled "Touch Me", and a book about hormone replacement therapy. She currently features items of her design on the Home Shopping Network. Contents [hide] 1 Background 1.1 Early life 1.2 Early acting roles 1.3 Three's Company 1.4 Spokeswomen for the Thighmaster 1.5 Playboy pictorials 1.6 She's the Sheriff 1.7 Step by Step 1.8 Candid Cohost 1.9 Bout with breast cancer 1.10 As a business executive 1.11 The Blonde in the Thunderbird 1.12 Wildfire at her Malibu home 2 Her work on HSN 3 Television work 4 Filmography 5 Books 6 References 7 External links //

Background

Early life

Somers was born Suzanne Marie Mahoney, the third of four children in Frank and Marion Mahoney's Irish Catholic household in San Bruno, California. Her father was an alcoholic who could become violent on occasion, as Somers recounted, often forcing her to hide in her closet. She suffered from dyslexia and was a poor student. After being expelled from parochial school for having love notes in her locker, Suzanne went to Capuchino High School, where she appeared in several drama productions, including portraying Adelaide in the Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls. Due to his drinking problem, her father was too inebriated to attend Suzanne's high school graduation in June 1964. A made-for-TV-movie starring Somers (based on her first autobiography, Keeping Secrets) was made about her life and growing up with an alcoholic father.

In September 1964, she was accepted at San Francisco College for Women (commonly referred to as "Lone Mountain College") on a music scholarship, a Catholic school that is now a campus of the University of San Francisco. She left during her Sophomore year, after becoming pregnant. She gave birth to her son Bruce Jr. on November 8, 1965, after marrying the boy's father, Bruce Somers. She left her husband three years later and began modeling. In 1971, her son was severely injured when he was hit by a car.

In 1968, Suzanne won a job as a prize model on the short-lived game show, The Anniversary Game hosted by her future husband, Alan Hamel. She has been married to Hamel since 1977. Hamel was her business manager during the failed negotiations, which led to her leaving Three's Company.

Early acting roles

She began acting in small roles during the late