If you close your eyes and think about 1970s television, you probably hear that "C’mon Get Happy" theme song. You see the velvet suits. You see the bus. And, almost certainly, you see Susan Dey. As Laurie Partridge, she was the quintessential "girl next door" of the decade—the one with the velvet-smooth voice, the iconic bangs, and that effortless, cool-older-sister energy.
But honestly? The sunshine-yellow image of Susan Dey in The Partridge Family was a massive mask. While millions of teenagers were pinning her poster to their bedroom walls, Susan was privately navigating a series of personal hurdles that would eventually lead her to walk away from the Hollywood machine entirely.
The Casting Fluke That Changed Everything
Most people don’t realize that Susan Dey had zero acting experience when she landed the role of Laurie. None. She was a 17-year-old model who had appeared in a few magazines, including a tampon commercial booklet. Her stepmother, Gail, had sent her photos to a New York agency on a whim.
Basically, she was the "accidental" star.
When she walked into the audition for The Partridge Family, she wasn't some seasoned child actor with a stage mom. She was just a kid from Pekin, Illinois, who happened to have the perfect look for 1970. The producers took a huge gamble on her. It paid off for the network, of course, but for Susan, it meant learning how to grow up in front of 30 million people every Tuesday night.
That kind of pressure does things to a person.
The David Cassidy Situation: It Wasn't a Sitcom Romance
We have to talk about David Cassidy. You can’t tell the story of Susan Dey and the show without him. On screen, they were siblings. Off screen, Susan was hopelessly, painfully in love with him.
It’s one of those classic Hollywood heartbreaks.
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Susan carried a torch for David through almost the entire four-year run of the series. Shirley Jones, the family matriarch and David’s real-life stepmother, actually warned Susan to stay away. She knew David’s lifestyle—the "teen idol" whirlwind—wasn't a match for Susan’s sincere feelings.
Eventually, after the show wrapped in 1974, they did have a brief, ill-fated fling. It didn't end well. David later admitted he didn't have the "slatternly" feelings for her that he needed for a relationship. He saw her more as a sister, which is a pretty brutal thing to hear from your crush.
The real breaking point, though, came years later. In his 1994 autobiography, C'mon, Get Happy, David went into graphic, unnecessary detail about their brief time together. Susan felt betrayed. She felt that he had taken something private and sacred and turned it into a tabloid headline to sell books.
She never spoke to him again.
When the cast did reunion specials or interviews over the next thirty years, Susan’s chair was always empty. She chose peace over a paycheck. Even when David passed away in 2017, she remained silent. Some fans thought it was cold; others realized it was just the final boundary of a woman who had been hurt enough by the spotlight.
The Secret Battle with Anorexia
Behind the scenes of the "happiest" family on TV, Susan was disappearing.
Literally.
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The stress of being a teenage icon triggered a severe eating disorder. At her lowest point, Susan weighed only 92 pounds. She has since talked about how she would show up to the set with orange-tinted skin because she was eating nothing but carrots.
It was actually her co-star Danny Bonaduce who gave her the wake-up call. They were at a pool party, and when Susan took off her cover-up to reveal a bikini, Danny was visibly horrified by her skeletal frame. He told her she looked like a "walking ghost."
That moment of blunt honesty from a kid co-star was what finally forced her to see the reality of her health. It took years to recover, but she eventually managed to break the cycle—something many child stars of that era never quite achieved.
Life After Laurie: The L.A. Law Pivot
Most "teen dreams" fade into obscurity once their show gets canceled. Susan Dey refused to follow that script.
She spent a decade doing TV movies and smaller roles, desperately trying to shed the "Laurie Partridge" image. People didn't want to see her as anything else. They wanted the girl on the bus.
Then came 1986.
When she was cast as Grace Van Owen on L.A. Law, it was a revolution. She wasn't the girl next door anymore; she was a fierce, complicated, brilliant District Attorney. She won a Golden Globe in 1988 for the role and earned three Emmy nominations.
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She proved she could act.
It’s rare to see a performer successfully jump from a bubblegum sitcom to a gritty prestige drama, but Susan did it with a quiet, steely determination. She worked until 2004, with her final credit being a guest spot on Third Watch, and then she just... stopped.
Where is Susan Dey Now?
Susan didn't have a "downfall." She didn't have a public meltdown. She simply decided she was done.
Today, she lives a very private life in upstate New York with her husband, Bernard Sofronski. She’s heavily involved in philanthropic work, specifically serving on the board of the Rape Treatment Center at UCLA Medical Center. She’s turned her back on the "celebrity" aspect of her life to focus on things that actually matter to her.
Actionable Takeaways from the Susan Dey Legacy
If you’re a fan of classic TV or someone interested in the psychology of fame, Susan’s story offers a few "real-world" lessons:
- Boundaries are Essential: Susan taught us that you don't owe the public your personal history. Her refusal to join reunions wasn't "diva behavior"—it was self-preservation.
- Career Reinvention is Possible: You aren't stuck in the "box" people put you in at 17. The transition from The Partridge Family to L.A. Law is a masterclass in professional pivoting.
- Silence is a Choice: In an era of oversharing, there is immense power in walking away and living a quiet, meaningful life on your own terms.
If you’re looking to revisit her work, start with the first season of The Partridge Family to see that raw, untrained talent, and then jump to the pilot of L.A. Law. The contrast is staggering. It’s the story of a girl who found herself by leaving the girl everyone else wanted her to be behind.
Next Steps: To see Susan's transition for yourself, you can find The Partridge Family streaming on platforms like Tubi or Amazon Freevee. For her award-winning turn in L.A. Law, check out Hulu or various digital purchase options to witness one of the most successful image rebrands in television history.