Suzanne Somers, the blonde bombshell who made her impact on television with Three’s Company, is dead. The actress was 76 and had been battling breast cancer on and off for over two decades, according to Deadline.
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Somers’ publicist wrote in a statement to PEOPLE. “Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years…Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”
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Somers first appeared in a small, memorable role in American Graffiti as the blonde who catches Richard Dreyfuss’ eye from a White Thunderbird. But her major break came four years later in Three’s Company.
She portrayed the “dumb blonde” Chrissy on the edgy sitcom alongside Joyce DeWitt and the late John Ritter. The TV roommates stuck together until the start of the 1980 season when Somers departed due to a behind-the-scenes dispute.
Somers would return to the sitcom world after a detour in Las Vegas, first appearing in She’s the Sheriff, then finding success again in 1991 on Step by Step. The show lasted for eight seasons as part of ABC’s TGIF block on Fridays, then moved to CBS for a final season in 1997. While her TV career helped make her a household name, it was her fitness empire with the ThighMaster and the ButtMaster that cemented her as a multi-millionaire fitness voice. Along with her husband Alan Hammel, Somers amassed hundreds of millions of dollars from the Master series of exercise equipment.
It would also allow her to pick and choose her showbusiness roles and jobs, including co-hosting Candid Camera in 1997, hosting her own talk show in 2012 on Lifetime, and appearing on Dancing With the Stars in 2015. She also has a short funny cameo in Serial Mom, which came long before this period in the timeline but I wanted to mention it. So please, check it out.
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