Whatever Happened to Susan Dey?

Growing up, I thought that Laurie Partridge on The Partridge Family was the complete package: beauty, brains, and musical talent up the wazoo. Laurie was pretty much perfect; her only flaw was that she wasn’t real. That’s why this article is about Laurie’s real-life alter ego, Susan Dey — who, it turns out, is even more amazing than any of the characters that she ever played on television. Today, she’s stepped away from Hollywood and is pursuing a quiet life in upstate New York — but, as you’ll see, she’s still interested in music.

How did Susan Dey get her start?

Everett Collection

After a couple of years of modeling, Susan landed the role of Laurie Partridge when she was 17. The show was a huge ratings hit for ABC and would run for four seasons.

You know, I’ve got to believe that this was all very exciting for Susan, who won the part of Laurie Partridge even though she had no acting experience. In addition to lending some killer vocals, Laurie Partridge was also the keyboard player in the band. Susan herself did not know how to play the piano. At one point, she asked if the show would provide her with lessons so that she could perform more realistically and perhaps, at some point in the future, actually play the music herself. That request was denied. From what I understand, none of the actors, even David Cassidy and Shirley Jones, were really hired for their musicianship.

Speaking of David Cassidy, it does seem that for a brief period of time, he and Susan were really together as a couple. However, as David detailed in his autobiography, C’mon, Get Happy, that relationship was doomed because he saw her more as a sister than a lover. In the book, he says that her wholesome looks just didn’t do it for him.

In a Woman’s World magazine article by Ed Gross from 2024, Shirley Jones is quoted as saying “Susan Dey fell madly in love with David Cassidy, but David didn’t reciprocate her feelings. He didn’t treat her well during that time, and it broke her heart.”

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection

From 1986 to 1992, she knocked it out of the park as Grace Van Owen on NBC Television’s L.A. Law. During that show’s first six seasons, Dey was nominated for an Emmy three times and a Golden Globe six times for her work on the show. She actually won the award in 1988.

I should also mention that Susan was involved in charitable endeavors, too.  She has served as a board member of the Rape Treatment Center at the UCLA Medical Center. Her involvement with the center has been something that she’s felt very strongly about. In fact, Susan is so passionate about helping victims of this particularly heinous crime that she worked on a documentary about campus rape with her former L.A. Law co-star, Corbin Bernsen. She talks more about her involvement in that project in this Los Angeles Times article.

Susan’s final onscreen appearance was in 2004 when she appeared in two episodes of Third Watch. After that, Susan decided it was time to live a different kind of life, something away from the fast pace of the entertainment industry.

Where is Susan Dey today?

In 1988, Susan married for the second time, this time to television producer Bernard Sofronski. Susan and Bernard reside in a lovely little Northern Catskills community in the state of New York, where she has become very involved in many of the cultural and civic elements of the area.

There was a video on YouTube a few years ago, that sadly has since been taken down, where Susan talked about a “Battle of the Bands” competition that she was helping to promote. In the interview, it was clear to see that she’s such a vibrant and inspirational force for good in her community, and the folks in upstate New York are truly lucky to have her. Although she was promoting a cultural event, Susan also spent quite a bit of time talking about the community as a whole and that deep sense of connectedness that she feels to the area.

Based on the interview, I’d say that she certainly seems happy and content with the choices that she’s made over the years. And if you think about it, what more can any of us really ask for?

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