What was Chevy Chase like before the world knew his name? One woman found out early. Suzanne Chase married him years before fame arrived, then walked away from the spotlight for good. Her story stays short, but it still pulls in curious readers today.
Quick Facts Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Birth Name | Susan Hewitt |
| Public Name | Suzanne Chase |
| Born | 1949, United States |
| Age in 2026 | About 77 |
| Husband | Chevy Chase |
| Wedding Date | February 23, 1973 |
| Divorce Date | February 1, 1976 |
| Time Married | Roughly 3 years |
| Kids Together | None |
| Life Today | Private, no public presence |
Google Rich Results Optimized: Who Is Suzanne Chase?
Suzanne Chase was born Susan Hewitt and is known today as the first wife of actor and comedian Chevy Chase. The two married on February 23, 1973, years before he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1976, after about three years together. She has not appeared publicly since.
She adopted the name Suzanne Chase once she became his wife. Outside of that fact and her birth year, almost nothing about her has been confirmed by any reliable source. There are no childhood pictures tied to her name. No relatives have ever spoken about her past.
Most people recognize Chevy Chase through his films and comedy sketches. Fewer people know he spent his early twenties as an unproven musician with no guarantee of success. Suzanne stood beside him during that shaky period. Her brief marriage offers a rare look at his life before television made him famous.
Growing Up: What We Know About Her Early Years
Details about Suzanne Chase’s childhood remain thin. Public records confirm she was born in 1949 in the United States, but little else. Her parents, her siblings, and her hometown have never been documented anywhere reliable. This kind of gap was common for people of her generation.
Long before phones could record every moment, many people simply lived without leaving behind a public trail. Suzanne fits that pattern closely. She never sat down for an interview about her school days or her family life. No former classmates or neighbors have come forward with stories about her.
That same instinct for privacy followed her into adulthood. It stayed with her through her marriage and long after the divorce was final. Because so much of her past is unknown, her story keeps drawing curiosity from readers who want the full picture.
The Night Suzanne Chase Met Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase described their first meeting in his own memoir, co-written with Rena Fruchter. He was 25 and performing with a band called Chameleon Church at the time. Suzanne, only 19, had shown up to hear the music. Nothing about the moment felt like a scene from Hollywood.
This was not his only relationship before Suzanne. Years earlier, while attending Bard College, he had briefly dated Blythe Danner, who would go on to become a respected actress. But it was Suzanne he eventually chose to marry. Their bond formed just before his career started moving forward.
At that point in his life, Chevy had no public image to protect and nothing to lose by being ordinary. He was simply trying to figure out where his talent might take him. Suzanne watched that struggle up close, long before audiences ever learned his name.
Their Wedding in New York City
Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase exchanged vows on February 23, 1973, in New York City. It was a modest ceremony, attended only by close friends and family members. Saturday Night Live had not yet entered his life. Nobody in that small room could have predicted what came after.
One detail from his memoir rarely appears in other retellings of their story. Chevy wrote that Susan had become pregnant while they were dating and agreed to end the pregnancy if he promised to marry her. This claim comes entirely from his side, shared decades after the fact. Suzanne has never spoken about it publicly, so it should be treated as his personal account rather than confirmed fact.
Once married, the couple built a quiet life together in the years that followed. Chevy kept chasing opportunities in comedy while Suzanne managed their more private world. Like many young couples, they started out with hope, even though nothing about their future felt certain yet.
What Their Marriage Looked Like
For close to three years, Suzanne Chase watched her husband move from an unknown act to someone with real momentum in comedy. She never stepped into his public career herself. Instead, she remained part of the quieter life he kept away from cameras.
Friends and biographers have described the couple as opposites in temperament. Chevy came across as loud, energetic, and always performing. Suzanne leaned toward something calmer and more reserved. That kind of contrast can strengthen a relationship in some cases, while in others it slowly pulls two people apart.
Marrying someone before they find success means living through real financial and emotional uncertainty. There were no guarantees that his career would ever take off. Suzanne experienced that instability firsthand, standing next to him without knowing how things would turn out.
The End of Their Marriage
Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase finalized their divorce on February 1, 1976. At the time, no public explanation was ever given for the split. Years later, Chevy addressed it directly in his memoir, claiming that Suzanne had an affair and left the marriage on her own.
That version of events comes solely from Chevy, written and published long after their divorce. Suzanne has never confirmed his account, denied it, or offered a competing version of what happened. Since only one voice has ever spoken publicly about it, readers should view the claim as his memory, not a proven fact.
Most marriages end for reasons more complicated than a single sentence can capture. Whatever truly happened between them has stayed private ever since. Suzanne’s continued silence, even after Chevy shared his side publicly, reflects how strongly she valued keeping her own story to herself.
Life After Divorce and a Brief Brush With Acting
Once the marriage ended, Suzanne Chase disappeared almost entirely from public life. She never gave interviews connected to her time with Chevy Chase, and she never appeared at events tied to his career. Records under her birth name, Susan Hewitt, show she took part in a handful of small, low budget film projects during the 1970s, though that interest did not last long.
Beyond those brief credits, very little is known about the years that followed. No public records confirm whether she remarried or had children of her own. No photographs or news stories have tracked her whereabouts since. She chose a life away from attention and has held onto that choice for close to five decades.
This level of privacy is unusual, especially today. Most people once connected to a famous partner eventually resurface somewhere, whether through an interview, a book, or a social media account. Suzanne Chase never did any of that. Her consistency over so many years suggests this was never a temporary phase but a lasting decision.
Chevy Chase’s Marriages That Followed
Not long after his divorce from Suzanne, Chevy Chase married actress Jacqueline Carlin on December 4, 1976. Their relationship reportedly struggled early on over whether to move to New York during his years on Saturday Night Live. That marriage ended in divorce on November 14, 1980.
He later crossed paths with Jayni Luke while filming the 1981 comedy Under the Rainbow, where she worked as a production coordinator. The two married on June 19, 1982, in Pacific Palisades, California. Unlike his first two marriages, this one has lasted more than 40 years.
Here is a simple comparison of his three marriages:
| Wife | Married | Divorced | Length | Children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Hewitt (Suzanne Chase) | Feb 23, 1973 | Feb 1, 1976 | About 3 years | None |
| Jacqueline Carlin | Dec 4, 1976 | Nov 14, 1980 | About 4 years | None |
| Jayni Luke | June 19, 1982 | Still married | 40+ years | 3 daughters |
Chevy and Jayni share three daughters, named Cydney, Caley, and Emily Evelyn Chase. That third marriage gave him a stability his earlier relationships never reached.
A Look at Chevy Chase’s Career and Health Today
Following his split from Suzanne, Chevy Chase joined Saturday Night Live and quickly became known for his work on Weekend Update. His movie career took off soon after, including roles in Foul Play, Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and Fletch. At the height of his fame, he reportedly earned close to 7 million dollars per film and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993.
In early 2026, a documentary called I’m Chevy Chase, and You’re Not examined his career and personal struggles. The film revealed he had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a condition that weakens the heart and limits its ability to pump blood properly. During treatment, he spent about eight days in a medically induced coma.
His daughter Caley spoke openly in the documentary about how frightening that period was for the family. She recalled doctors warning them he might not recover. He did pull through and returned home to Jayni and their daughters. That chapter shows just how far his life has traveled since his brief years with Suzanne.
Where Suzanne Chase Stands Today
No verified details exist about Suzanne Chase’s life in the present day. She has not given interviews or made public statements in nearly fifty years. Given her birth year of 1949, she would be approximately 77 years old in 2026.
Her commitment to privacy has outlasted enormous shifts in how personal information travels. She made her decision long before the internet existed, then held onto it through the rise of social media and constant online searching. Few people manage that kind of consistency across so many decades.
Because so little about her can be confirmed, it is wise to avoid guessing about her current circumstances. Various websites offer claims about her career or her finances, but none carry solid proof. The clearest answer remains straightforward. Suzanne Chase chose a private life, and she has kept that choice steady for nearly five decades.
Final Thoughts
Suzanne Chase’s place in history is small but genuinely meaningful. She knew Chevy Chase before fame reshaped his life, married him during his most uncertain years, and quietly stepped away before anyone outside their circle knew her name. Her decision to stay silent, even after Chevy spoke publicly about their split, reflects real quiet strength.
Their three years together remain a lasting piece of his personal story, even though she never used that connection to seek attention. Her choice to disappear from public life, and to stay disappeared for decades, says something about who she is. Few people connected to fame ever manage that kind of consistency.
In the end, Suzanne Chase shows that not every story requires an audience. Some people are simply content with privacy over public recognition. Her name will likely keep surfacing in searches tied to Chevy Chase’s past, even while her own life continues entirely on her own terms.
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