Suzanne Somers has died at the age of 76.
The actress, known for her roles in ‘Three’s Company’ and ‘Step by Step’, passed away on Sunday morning following a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
Somers’s long-time publicist R. Couri Hay wrote in a statement shared on behalf of her family: “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.
“Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family.”
The statement continued: “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.”
Somers’s big break came in 1977 when she was cast in the sitcom ‘Three’s Company’ alongside John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt as ‘dumb blonde’ Chrissy Snow.
The show proved successful but Somers left the programme in 1980 in a row over her salary.
She then went to appear in sitcoms ‘She’s the Sheriff’ and ‘Step by Step’.
However, Somers’s attention turned away from acting as she built up a fitness empire as a spokeswoman in infomercials for the ThighMaster – a piece of exercise equipment that was squeezed between a person’s thighs.
She and husband Alan Hamel expanded the empire with books on wellness, weight loss and sex although the star did face criticism at times for her views on some medical topics.
Somers was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer back in 2000 and announced in July that the disease had returned.
She told Entertainment Tonight at the time: “I have been living with cancer since my twenties. And every time that little f*** pops up, I continue to bat it back. I do my best not to let this insidious disease control me.
“It’s a recurrence of my breast cancer. Like any cancer patient, when you get that’s dreaded, ‘It’s back’, you get a pit in your stomach. Then I put on my battle gear and go to war. This is familiar battleground for me and I’m very tough.”
