Suzanne Marie Somers

Suzanne Marie Mahoney was born in San Bruno, California. She achieved early cinematic notoriety as the mysterious blonde driving the 1956 Ford Thunderbird in George Lucas's coming-of-age classic American Graffiti (1973).

In 1977, Somers was cast as bubbly roommate Chrissy Snow on ABC's hit comedy Three's Company opposite John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. Her comedic timing and physical comedy made Chrissy a breakout television icon of late-1970s pop culture. In 1980, she boldly demanded equal pay with male television stars, resulting in her controversial firing from the show. Somers rebounded by launching a hugely successful Las Vegas revue, starring for seven seasons in the sitcom Step by Step, and pioneering direct-to-consumer fitness marketing with the ThighMaster, generating hundreds of millions of dollars and authoring over 25 health and lifestyle books.