CNN –
Suzanne Somers, the actress who turned heads on “Three’s Company” and was one of television’s best-known fitness pitchers, has died, her longtime publicist R. Couri Hay said in a statement to CNN.
She was 76.
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Hay wrote in a statement released on behalf of the actress’ family.
The statement said Somers was “surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce and her immediate family.”
“Her family was gathered on October 16 to celebrate her 77th birthday. Instead, they will celebrate their extraordinary lives and would like to thank their millions of fans and followers who loved them very much,” the statement continued.
In July, Somers revealed a recurrence of breast cancer.
“Since I took time off from work, many of you have asked for more details about my health. As you know, I had breast cancer two decades ago and every now and then it comes back and I continue to fight it,” she wrote on Instagram. “This is not new territory for me. I know how to put on my combat gear and I’m a fighter.”
She was first diagnosed with the disease in 2001, she revealed in an interview with Larry King.
Somers’ diverse career spanned decades, but she is best known for her role as Chrissy Snow on the hit ABC sitcom Three’s Company, which ran in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
She went on to author several books, including the bestsellers “Sexy Forever,” “Knockout,” and “Ageless.” She also hosted her own talk show and became a wellness entrepreneur, largely building on the success of her famous partnership with ThighMaster, which made her something of a fitness icon.
Somers began his acting career in the early 1960s with a series of uncredited film roles. In 1973, she made her first on-screen appearance as Blonde in the T-Bird in George Lucas’s Oscar-nominated film American Graffiti.
In the early ’70s, Somers appeared in various TV shows including “One Day at a Time,” “The Love Boat” and “Starsky and Hutch” before getting her big break with the role of Chrissy Snow.
Alongside the late John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt, Somers played the lively writing receptionist for five seasons between 1977 and 1981. The sitcom was a huge success and catapulted Somers to stardom.
“Because we were on the No. 1 show in the country, there was a collective consciousness because about half of all the people watching TV on Tuesday nights were watching Three’s Company,” she said during a 2015 CNN interview. “I am very happy that I got involved at this moment.”
In a 2012 interview, Somers said she worked hard to add dimension to her bubbly blonde character.
“I understood something a long time ago when I was on ‘Three’s Company.’ When I got the part I was totally broke, I was so happy to get the part but I kept thinking, “Stupid blondes are so annoying, how do I make them likeable?” I think I achieved that. It took a while for people to realize I was acting.”
Her time on Three’s Company ended in 1981 after Somers asked producers for a raise equal to Ritter’s salary the year before.
“I didn’t plan on being that person. I really enjoyed playing Chrissy Snow on TV. I didn’t intend to be the unofficial first feminist when I demanded equal pay,” she told Entrepreneur in 2020, adding: “Men were all making 10 to 15 times more than me, including John Ritter, and the network decided , to make one.” Example of me so that no other woman would have the audacity to ask for equal rights. I lost this great job and was so devastated at the time, but life is about gifts in disguise. Suddenly I was thrown out on the street, but I kept reinventing myself and my husband and I decided we would never work for anyone again.”
After her exit from the sitcom, she became a popular entertainer in Las Vegas. In 1987, Somer was named Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year along with Frank Sinatra.
“What was unfair about what happened to me at ABC? Yes. It was unfair, but life isn’t fair and you have to get over things and move on,” she said.
After “Three’s Company,” Somers starred as Sheriff Hildy Granger in the comedic television series “She’s the Sheriff” from 1987 to 1989. In the 1990s, Somers appeared in various television films and as a guest star on television shows, including “Full House.” ,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” and “The Simpsons.”
In 1991, the screenplay magic Somers discovered on “Three’s Company” struck again when the actress landed the role of Carol Foster Lambert on the family-friendly ABC sitcom “Step by Step.” Somers appeared as Lambert on the series until 1998.
She also hosted her popular eponymous morning talk show “The Suzanne Show” on Lifetime, where she covered emerging trends in health and wellness.
A focus on health and family
Outside of her successful television career, Somers focused her energy on wellness. Somers was also a fitness personality in the ’90s, starring in the commercial for the ThighMaster home exercise machine.
Somers recalled in a 2020 interview that the concept for the commercial was inspired by a new pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes that she showed off to her husband at the time.
“I left my dressing room in my underwear and said to my husband, ‘Do I like my new shoes?’ And he said, ‘Great legs!’ 10 million ThighMasters” were sold.
Somers is the author of more than two dozen wellness books, many of which have become New York Times bestsellers. In recent years, she has developed many natural beauty and nutritional products, which she often promotes on her social media.
Somers often spoke and wrote about growing old without fear.
“Today I love aging because I have found a new way to age,” she told Palm Springs Life in 2015. “My weight is back to what it was in my 20s, and since doing ‘Dancing With the Stars’ this season, my body has changed for the better.” “Alan says it’s like having a mistress,” Somers joked. “And I’m okay with that.”
Somers and Hamel were married for five decades, loved each other very much and were very proud of their family.
“Other than that,” she said, “my work in health care is my greatest accomplishment.”