StaffActor Suzanne Somers has died. She was 76.
The actor passed away “peacefully at home” in the early hours on Oct. 15, according to a statement to NBC News from Somers’ publicist R. Couri Hay, on behalf of the family.
It wasn’t immediately clear how Somers died, but Hay said the actress “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 read.
The statement noted that her family was gathered to celebrate Somers’ 77th birthday on Oct. 16 and will now celebrate “her extraordinary life.”
The family thanked fans and followers for their love.
A private family burial will take place this week and a memorial is set for next month, the family noted.
In July, the “Three’s Company” actor opened up in an Instagram post about her battle with breast cancer but revealed that she was once again cancer free.
“As you know, I had breast cancer two decades ago, and every now and then it pops up again, and I continue to bat it down,” Somers wrote. “I have used the best alternative and conventional treatments to combat it. This is not new territory for me. I know how to put on my battle gear and I’m a fighter.”
Somers posted a blissful photo with her husband, Alan Hamel, and wrote about her family’s support along her health journey.
“Alan has been by my side every step of the way. I can’t even explain how much he has done for me. If it’s even possible, we are even closer than ever,” she said. “My incredible family has been so supportive, and have helped so much by keeping the business running so you can still have access to all the wonderful products.”
At the time, Somers reflected on finding “bliss” in each day despite the recurrence of breast cancer in a statement to NBC News.
“As one of millions of cancer patients, we do our best not to let this insidious disease control us. I find bliss in each day,” Somers said in the statement. “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.”
A representative for Somers told NBC News in a separate statement that the actor had other unspecified health issues when she learned that her cancer had returned.
The representative added, however, that she free from the cancer at the time, which she was first diagnosed with in 2000.
