Suzanne Somers Dies At 76. She Went From 'Playing Dumb' To Become Business Mogul

Suzanne Somers, who came into the public eye through her role in the popular TV sitcom Three's Company and went on to become a successful entrepeneur and author, has died. She was 76.

A statement from her family sharing news of her death was first obtained by People magazine through Somers' publicist.

"Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of Oct. 15th," the statement from her family reads. She was surrounded by her husband, son and other members of her immediate family.

"Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on Oct. 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life."

Somers was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. Earlier this year, she revealed on Instagram that the cancer had returned.

Somers began her acting career in the 1960s — many people first remember as the blonde in the car in 1973's American Graffiti. Her big break came in a decade later, when she landed the role playing Chrissy Snow in Three's Company on ABC. Her ditzy character — with her blonde hair often in pigtails — was critical to the show's success.

Somers said she was fired from that job when she asked to be paid equally with her male costars. In a virtual appearance of the game show Go Fact Yourself hosted by LAist in 2020, Somers said it was a hard time in her life, but one that led to her later success.

"After I got fired from Three's Company, God, I couldn't get a job anywhere," Somers said. "I got fired because I wanted to be paid commensurate with the men and my contract was up . At that time they didn't like the idea that we women should be paid commensurate with the men. Really what I was asking for was, I'm asking to be paid according to who sold the most tickets and I was selling the most tickets."

Somers said she felt she was made an example to dissuade other women from making demands. After about a year of "feeling sorry for myself," she said she heard a voice in her head telling her she had enormous visibility around the world. That voice, she said, led to her residency in Las Vegas on to her role on Step by Step and what became an immensely lucrative business with the Thighmaster and other products.

"Sometimes the worse things that happen to us in life are opportunities if we choose to look at it that way," she said.

She went on to write more than two dozen books, many best sellers.

Somers, who spoke and wrote lot about her difficult childhood growing up as the child of an alcoholic, said she always "worked out my feelings through writing."

Alan Hamel and Suzanne Sommers pictured in 2002.

(

Kevin Winter

/

Getty Images

)

She'd been married to Alan Hamel, her longtime manager and business partner, since 1977. In that 2020 interview, in the middle of the pandemic, the pair said quarantining together was a breeze since they hadn't spent a night apart in 40-plus years.

"I actually miss him when he's in the other room," she said. "It's kind of crazy."

Somers' publicist R. Couri Hay in the statetement shared with NPR that the family plans a private burial this week, with a memorial to follow next month.