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"I've had women come up to me and say I was the reason they went to law school." To say that Susan Dey made an impact on her fans would be quite the understatement. Known primarily for her work on The Partridge Family (1970) and L.A. Law (1986), Dey has left behind a legacy that includes multiple major awards. As one of the most dominant actresses of the 70s and 80s, Dey has had quite the storied career.

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While we remember Susan Dey largely for her work on television, the phenomenal actress has actually had quite the varied career. Before Dey was working on television, she was a professional model with notable cover shoots for a company named Pursette. At just 17-years-old, Dey was already making a name for herself. Outside of modeling and television work, Dey has starred in 51 projects from 1972 to 2004 before ultimately retiring from public life.

Despite Dey's desire to remove herself from public life, the former child star left behind an incredible run on television. From The Partridge Family and Hawaii Five-O to L.A. Law, Dey made sure to leave her mark. Even so, Dey could not have predicted how much of an impact that she would have on the pop-culture world.

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Susan Dey's Early Years

Susan Dey was born on December 10, 1952, in the city of Pekin, Illinois. Dey's father was a newspaper editor named Robert Smith Dey and Dey's mother was a nurse named Ruth Pyle Dey. Robert was a newspaper editor in New Rochelle, NY where he worked for the Standard-Star. Ruth Dey would tragically pass away while Susan was still a child.

Though Susan was born in a small town, her family would soon relocate to New York. Susan would attend classes at Columbus Elementary School. Never the type of family to stay in one place, the Deys were on the move once again. Susan and her family settled down in Mount Kisco, NY where Susan would graduate from Fox Lane High School.

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While Susan never pursued acting in school, she was clearly not afraid of being in front of the camera. After graduating from high school, Susan would attempt to establish herself as a model. Dey would appear in a string of publications as a teen, most notably appearing on a lady's toiletry ad for the company, Pursettes. Dey's modeling career would be short-lived, however, as she soon gained the attention of the production team behind The Partridge Family.

An Unsuspecting TV Star 

While Susan Dey never planned to become a massive television star, the career path still would find itself at her feet. After finding success in the modeling world, Dey found herself at a casting call for The Partridge Family (1970).  Dey would end up landing the role of Laurie Partridge, the high school sweetheart of the show. The Partridge Family would quickly garner commercial and critical acclaim. As a result, Dey's star began to burn brighter than she could have expected. During the production, Susan would develop a crush on her co-star, David Cassidy. The two would pursue an on-again-off-again relationship before Cassidy would walk away from the relationship.

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After finding success on The Partridge Family, Dey was quick to capitalize on her fame. Dey would land her first film role in 1972 in the Charlton Heston film, Skyjacked. The film would receive positive critical reviews with most of the praise going toward the tension in the film.  Dey would follow-up the film with an appearance in the made-for-TV movie, Mary  Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977). The film would showcase Dey in her most dramatic light yet as she portrayed an abusive mother suffering from psychological delusion. The film was a huge step forward for Dey who was eager to prove herself outside of her role as the sweet singing teenager, Laurie Partridge. After finding success in the film world, Dey would go on to co-star in the 1981 sci-fi flick, Looker. The film was directed by famous author Michael Crichton and it also starred Albert Finney.

Despite the work that Dey was doing on the silver screen, her home was always on television. Dey would land the role of Grace Van Owen in the hit TV series, L.A. Law (1986–92). This role would end up becoming as large of a part of Dey's identity as The Partridge Family. The show would become a huge success and Dey was lauded for her work. In fact, Dey would go on to secure a Golden Globe award for being the Best Actress in a Drama Series. With fame from L.A. Law pushing her forward, Dey would land the coveted hosting gig on an episode of Saturday Night Live (1992). At this point in time, Dey was firmly attempting to separate herself from her roots as part of the Partridge family. Dey was noted by Shirley Jones to have been one of the few cast members to refuse to attend Partridge Family events and reunions. 

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Shortly after hosting Saturday Night Live, Dey ran into a string of middling film releases. Dey would star in Lies and Lullabies (1993) and Deadly Love (1995). Around this period of time, Dey would opt to come back to television with a starring role in the show Love and War (1992). The series was canceled after three seasons. Dey would then return to the character of Grace Van Owen for the 2002 release of L.A. Law: The Movie. The film received mixed reviews but the overall consensus was that the film was a solid addition to the original series.

Nowadays, Susan Dey is happily retired. Dey is married to Bernard Sofronski, and she has one daughter, Sara Dey-Hirshan, from a prior relationship.  Dey has been almost prolific in her attempts to stay out of the public spotlight and not much is known about what the former TV-star is up to.