Suzanne Somers lost her years-long battle with cancer just one day before her 77th birthday, Pvnew can exclusively /confirm/i.
The actress died early Sunday at the age of 76, the star’s longtime publicist, R. Couri Hay, tells us.
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of Oct. 15. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” he says.
“Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband, Alan [Hamel], her son, Bruce, and her immediate family.”
Hay notes that Somers’ family had planned to gather on what would have been her 77th birthday Monday.
“Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly,” he concludes his statement.
“A private family burial will take place this week, with a memorial to follow next month.”
A friend tells Pvnew that the “Three’s Company” star died beside her husband, Hamel.
“She died in her new ‘all green home’ in Palm Springs in her sleep with her loving husband by her side,” the pal says.
Celebrity deaths 2023: Actors, singers and stars we lost this year
Another source tells us that Hamel had given his wife of 46 years an early birthday present shortly before she passed.
“[It was a] handwritten love poem wrapped in her favorite pink peonies,” they reveal.
The tragic news comes less than three months after Hamel told Pvnew that the TV icon’s breast cancer had returned.
The “Step by Step” star was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time in her 50s after battling skin cancer in her 30s and overcoming “two hyperplasia” in her 20s, Hamel explained.
“I have been living with cancer since my 20s. And every time that little f—ker pops up, I continue to bat it back,” Somers shared with “Entertainment Tonight” in July.
“I do my best not to let this insidious disease control me,” she added.
“It’s a recurrence of my breast cancer. Like any cancer patient, when you get that 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.”
The blond beauty is survived by her son, Bruce Jr., whom she shared with her ex-husband, Bruce Somers.
She was also a stepmom to Stephen and Leslie Hamel from her husband’s previous marriage, and was a loving grandmother to six grandchildren.
