Suzanne Somers, the blonde and effervescent American actress known for her roles in the television series Vivre à trois (Three’s Company) and Notre belle famille (Step by Step), died on the morning of Sunday October 15, her family announced in a press release. . She was 76 years old.
Suzanne Somers suffered from breast cancer for more than twenty-three years. “His family was gathered to celebrate his 77th birthday on October 16,” the text states. Instead, they will celebrate his extraordinary life, and want to thank his millions of fans and followers who loved him dearly. »
The actress was first diagnosed in 2000 and also suffered from skin cancer. She faced backlash after speaking out against the use of chemotherapy in books and on shows such as “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” prompting criticism from the American Cancer Society.
Born in 1946 in San Bruno, California, to a gardener father and a medical secretary mother, Suzanne Somers began acting in the late 1960s, playing the blonde driving the white Thunderbird in the film American Graffiti (1973). by George Lucas. His only line is to say “I love you” to Richard Dreyfuss’s character.
During her audition, George Lucas simply asked her if she knew how to drive. She would later say that this moment “changed her life forever.” She later staged a one-woman show on Broadway called The Blonde in the Thunderbird, which received generally harsh reviews.
“Who do you think you are? »
The actress then appeared in numerous television series in the 1970s, including Two Hundred Dollars Plus Expenses (The Rockford Files), Starsky and Hutch and The Three Billion Man, but her most famous role in the United States is the one she plays in Vivre à trois, broadcast on ABC from 1977 to 1984 – although her participation ended in 1981.
In Vivre à trois, a comedy about roommates, she plays a scatterbrained blonde opposite John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. In 1980, after four seasons, she asked for a raise from $30,000 per episode to $150,000 per episode – comparable to what John Ritter received. Her husband Alan Hamel, a former television producer, encourages this request.
Production then responds “Who do you think you are? “, she remembered in 2020 in an interview with People magazine: “John Ritter is the star [of the series]. » She was quickly fired and her character was replaced by two different roommates during the final years of the series’ run.
But the actress is taking the opportunity to explore new activities, including a show in Las Vegas, writing books, hosting a talk show and starting a business.
Suzanne Somers returned to television in the 1990s, notably in Our Beautiful Family (Step by Step), broadcast in the United States on ABC and multi-broadcast in France on M6, among others.