Suzanne Somers
She’s the Real Deal
 Is there a woman over 40 in America who doesn’t know who Suzanne Somers is? Her achievements span three decades and include acting, singing, writing, comedy, and motivational speaking. Eight of her 17 books became New York Times bestsellers. Unlike many celebrity relationships, Suzanne and her husband, Alan Hamel, have been together for 37 years. They have two sons, a daughter and six grandchildren. Suzanne has combined beauty, brains and practical street smarts, parlaying them into a multi-million dollar lifestyle empire. And at sixty, she still looks fabulous!
Suzanne’s boundless energy and positive attitude have always pushed her forward to explore new opportunities and challenges, both professionally and in her personal life. Her latest venture is SUZANNE, a direct selling company named after her. SUZANNE is the culmination of product development and marketing Suzanne and her husband have been involved in since the 1980s.
“SUZANNE is an extension of everything we do,” says Somers. “It is impossible to market all our products on HSN – we have more than 1,000 – and we wanted to cover the broadest demographic, so direct selling is where we landed. I grew up in a working-class environment and can relate to both our customers and our sales consultants. We have already grown to 1,200 consultants across the country. I have a personal relationship with many of them. I’m having a blast.”
Despite her glamorous looks, Suzanne is very down to earth. She is personally involved in all aspects of SUZANNE, beginning with product development. “I developed each product line to create solutions”, Somers says. “I’m no different from anyone else. If I find a need for a product in my life, then lots of other women – and men – will have the same need. We always seek to develop product that is organic to me and the underlying values our brand represents – honesty, integrity, high quality at a great price – and we make certain the customer is extremely happy.”
 Most of the product development is done in-house. As Somers says, “It starts with an idea, followed by research and further development. After many years, I have numerous trusted vendors who understand my taste and demand for quality. Of course, many products are pitched to me, and every now and then one wows me. In those cases, I always add something to it to make it my own. That’s what happened with the ThighMaster®, which was originally described as an all-over body toner. When I saw how it worked the inner thigh, I knew that was the hook, and the name came from there.”
 Somers appears to have a tiger by the tail. SUZANNE is unique in the diversity of product offerings for home party consultants. They can host a jewelry party with jewelry and accessories, or a food party with food and appliances, or a FaceMaster® party…even “Everything Parties”. And the consultants are enthusiastic SUZANNE supporters. Many of them were loyal Home Shopping Network product purchasers for years and were eager to jump on board when SUZANNE was launched officially in March of 2007. What they lack in direct selling experience they more than make up for in their love of and belief in the products, as well as their dedication to Suzanne herself. The feeling is mutual. “I am very involved with my consultants, because everything has my name on it”, she says. “When I can, I call them when they are hosting parties. It really revs up the enthusiasm and demonstrates the hands-on nature of our business. And, oh my goodness, are they having fun!”
 One might think that Suzanne has it all…success, fame and fortune. But as she said, she is no different from anyone else. Life has handed her challenges as well. Her childhood as the daughter of an abusive, alcoholic father was traumatic. Her first child, born when she was only nineteen, was severely injured when at age six he was struck by a car. In 2001, Suzanne was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she experienced an extremely difficult menopause.
Suzanne has been the subject of criticism from many in the medical community for her support of natural menopause treatments and bio-identical hormones for post-menopausal women. She qualifies her position by saying, “I do not recommend this to anyone. It is simply what I chose to do, and the results seven years later are very satisfying. Much of my intensive decade-long research has been into the medically sound, cutting-edge use of bio-identical hormones to promote optimal health. I have found bio-identical hormones to be healthy, natural options to synthetic hormones, and they have proven extremely successful for me.”
When asked where she sees herself professionally in the next five to ten years, Suzanne responds by saying, “When I first started SUZANNE, I envisioned being at a stadium hosting a convention with tens of thousands of consultants. I see that happening.”
And when it does, if she has anything to say about it, Suzanne will still look fabulous and will still engage everyone there with her contagious, positive spirit. What an inspiration!SPW
Christine Spear is Editor in Chief
of Silk Purse Women magazine
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