Susan Dey Net Worth

What is Susan Dey's Net Worth?

Susan Dey is a retired American actress who has a net worth of $6 million.

Susan Dey became a television star at the age of 17 when she was cast as Laurie Partridge on the musical sitcom "The Partridge Family." Despite having no previous acting experience, Dey appeared in all 96 episodes of the series and became one of the most recognizable young actresses of the early 1970s.

After "The Partridge Family" ended, Dey successfully moved beyond her teen-idol image by taking on increasingly dramatic roles in films, miniseries, and television movies. Her credits included "Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night," "First Love," "Looker," "Malibu," "Emerald Point N.A.S.," "Echo Park," "Bed of Lies," and "Lies and Lullabies."

Dey experienced the greatest critical success of her career as deputy district attorney and later judge Grace Van Owen on NBC's "L.A. Law." She appeared in 126 episodes over six seasons, won a Golden Globe, and received three consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations. She later starred in the sitcom "Love & War," reprised Grace Van Owen in "L.A. Law: The Movie," and made her final acting appearances on "Third Watch" in 2004.

Early Life

Susan Hallock Dey was born on December 10, 1952, in Pekin, Illinois. Her mother, Ruth Pyle Dey, was a nurse, while her father, Robert Smith Dey, worked as an editor for the "Standard-Star" newspaper in New Rochelle, New York. Her mother died in 1961 when Susan was eight years old.

Dey grew up primarily in New York and attended Columbus Elementary School in Thornwood. She later moved to Mount Kisco and graduated from Fox Lane High School in Bedford in 1970.

While still in school, Dey began modeling after her stepmother submitted photographs of Susan and her sister to a New York modeling agency. One of her earliest assignments was appearing on the cover of a promotional booklet produced by the Pursettes tampon company. Modeling remained her only professional entertainment experience when she auditioned for the television role that changed her life.

Susan Dey, 1974. (Photo by Getty Images)

"The Partridge Family"

In 1970, Dey was cast as Laurie Partridge, the eldest daughter in a fictional family musical group led by widowed mother Shirley Partridge. The role of Shirley was played by Oscar-winning actress and singer Shirley Jones.

Dey had never acted professionally before joining the series. She nevertheless became a central member of an ensemble that also included David Cassidy as Keith Partridge and Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge.

"The Partridge Family" premiered on ABC in September 1970 and followed the family as it traveled and performed in a brightly painted school bus. Although the actors were presented as a working musical group, most of the recordings were created by professional studio musicians. Cassidy and Jones provided vocals, while the younger cast members generally mimed their instruments for the television performances.

The sitcom ran for four seasons and 96 episodes before ending in 1974. It also produced successful records, including the chart-topping single "I Think I Love You." Dey's performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination in 1973 for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series.

Dey's exact salary from "The Partridge Family" has never been disclosed. Like many young television performers of the era, she did not receive ownership of the program or a significant share of its merchandising empire. She did, however, continue receiving residual income as the show was rerun in syndication and on cable television.

Transition to Dramatic Roles

Dey began accepting outside roles while "The Partridge Family" was still in production. She made her film debut as Elly Brewster in the 1972 airplane-disaster thriller "Skyjacked," which starred Charlton Heston. She followed it with the television film "Terror on the Beach" in 1973.

After the sitcom ended, Dey made guest appearances on shows including "The Rookies," "Hawaii Five-O," "S.W.A.T.," "Petrocelli," "The Streets of San Francisco," and "Barnaby Jones." She also played Jo March in a 1978 television adaptation of "Little Women."

Dey received attention for playing an emotionally troubled young mother in the 1977 television movie "Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night." That same year, she starred opposite William Katt in the romantic drama "First Love."

Her film work during this period included the science-fiction thriller "Looker" and the independent comedy-drama "Echo Park." On television, she appeared in "The Comeback Kid," "The Gift of Life," "Malibu," and "Love Leads the Way." From 1983 to 1984, she starred as Celia Mallory Warren on the CBS military drama "Emerald Point N.A.S."

"L.A. Law"

In 1986, Dey landed the defining dramatic role of her career on "L.A. Law," created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher. She played Grace Van Owen, an ambitious deputy district attorney who was later appointed to the bench and eventually joined the fictional law firm at the center of the series.

Dey starred alongside an ensemble that included Harry Hamlin, Jimmy Smits, and Corbin Bernsen. Grace's turbulent relationship with Hamlin's character, attorney Michael Kuzak, became one of the show's major storylines.

"L.A. Law" became one of NBC's most acclaimed dramas, winning multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. Dey received Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1987, 1988, and 1989. She received six Golden Globe nominations during her career, including five consecutive nominations for "L.A. Law," and won the award for Best Actress in a Television Drama for her portrayal of Grace.

Dey originally signed a five-year contract with the series. She planned to leave after completing the fifth season, but producers persuaded her to return for another year by renegotiating her salary and giving her greater freedom to accept projects outside the show. She ultimately appeared in 126 episodes from 1986 to 1992.

Her precise salary was never released, but the renegotiation came after she had become one of the program's most prominent and decorated performers. "L.A. Law" therefore represented the most lucrative sustained acting job of her career.

"Love & War" and Later Career

In February 1992, Dey hosted "Saturday Night Live," with C+C Music Factory appearing as the musical guest. Later that year, she moved from drama to comedy by starring as Wallis "Wally" Porter on the CBS sitcom "Love & War."

The series paired Dey with actor and radio personality Jay Thomas. She appeared throughout the first season but was replaced by Annie Potts when producers decided that Dey and Thomas did not have the romantic chemistry they wanted for the show's central couple.

Dey continued working primarily in television movies during the 1990s. She starred in "Bed of Lies," "Lies and Lullabies," "Beyond Betrayal," "Deadly Love," "Blue River," and "Bridge of Time." She also served as a producer or co-producer on several projects, including "I Love You Perfect" and "Lies and Lullabies."

In 2002, Dey returned as Grace Van Owen in the reunion movie "L.A. Law: The Movie." Her final screen appearances came in 2004, when she played Dr. Breene in two episodes of the NBC drama "Third Watch." She subsequently retired from acting and largely withdrew from public life.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Real Estate

In December 1986, shortly after the premiere of "L.A. Law," Dey purchased a home in Beverly Hills. The sale was handled by prominent luxury real estate broker Elaine Young Shapiro, but the price and exact address were not publicly disclosed.

In July 2007, Dey and her husband purchased a home in Andes, New York, in the western Catskill Mountains for $665,000. Built in 2004, the house measures approximately 3,086 square feet, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. It stands on more than 25 acres.

In May 2008, the couple paid $400,000 for a co-op apartment on East 73rd Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Personal Life

Dey experienced anorexia while working on "The Partridge Family" and later spoke about the difficulty of going through adolescence under intense public scrutiny. She also struggled with alcoholism before entering recovery.

Dey developed romantic feelings for David Cassidy during the production of "The Partridge Family." The two briefly pursued a relationship after the show ended, but Cassidy did not share the depth of her feelings and ended it. Dey later severed contact with him after he discussed private details of their relationship in his 1994 autobiography, "C'mon, Get Happy… Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus."

In 1976, Dey married talent agent Leonard "Lenny" Hirshan, who was 25 years her senior. Their daughter, Sara, was born in 1978. Dey and Hirshan divorced in 1981.

Dey married television producer Bernard Sofronski in 1988. Sofronski's producing credits include "Alex Haley's Queen," "Murder in Mississippi," "Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story," "Into Thin Air: Death on Everest," and "Murder in Greenwich."

Dey has supported organizations working with survivors of sexual assault and served on the board of the Rape Treatment Center at UCLA Medical Center. She and Corbin Bernsen also co-narrated the documentary "Campus Rape."

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