Suzanne Chase, born Susan Hewitt, is known for her early connection to American comedian and actor Chevy Chase. She entered his life before his career reached the major success that later made him famous.
She became widely recognized as Chevy Chase’s first wife. The couple married in New York City in 1973 and spent about three years together before their marriage ended in divorce in February 1976.
Her story is much quieter than her former husband’s Hollywood journey. This biography explores Suzanne’s background, marriage, divorce, brief acting work, private lifestyle, and what happened after she separated from Chevy Chase.
Who Is Suzanne Chase?
Suzanne Chase, originally named Susan Hewitt, is the first wife of Chevy Chase. Born in the United States in 1949, she became connected to the comedian during the early stage of his entertainment career.
She knew Chevy before Saturday Night Live turned him into a major comedy star. Their relationship therefore belongs to an important period when he was still working to establish his name and build a successful career.
Unlike Chevy, Suzanne did not build her life around public attention. After their marriage ended, she largely disappeared from the spotlight and kept her later years separate from her former husband’s growing celebrity status.
Suzanne Chase’s Early Life
Suzanne Chase was born Susan Hewitt in the United States in 1949. She spent her younger years away from entertainment fame and lived a relatively ordinary life before her relationship with Chevy Chase brought attention to her name.
Information about her parents, siblings, childhood home, and family background has remained outside her public story. She also did not discuss her upbringing through interviews or detailed accounts of her younger years.
This quiet beginning fits the pattern Suzanne followed later in life. Even after becoming connected to a well-known entertainer, she kept her family history and personal experiences away from wider attention.
Her Life Before Meeting Chevy Chase
Before meeting Chevy Chase, Suzanne lived outside the Hollywood spotlight. Her education, early career plans, and everyday activities from this period did not become major subjects of media coverage during her later association with Chevy.
Her life changed when she developed a relationship with the future comedy star. At the time, Chevy was still trying to establish himself in entertainment and had not achieved the widespread fame that came later.
This meant their relationship began without the intense celebrity attention that eventually surrounded him. Suzanne knew him as an ambitious young entertainer rather than the established movie and television personality audiences would later recognize.
How Suzanne Met Chevy Chase
The exact story of Suzanne and Chevy Chase’s first meeting has remained private. Their paths crossed while Chevy was still working on smaller comedy projects and trying to find his place within the entertainment business.
Their romance developed before major television appearances, movie premieres, and celebrity attention became normal parts of Chevy’s life. They were able to build their early relationship largely outside the view of entertainment reporters and fans.
That timing makes Suzanne an important person in Chevy’s early personal history. She experienced his life before major success arrived and was beside him during a period filled with professional ambition, uncertainty, and change.
Suzanne and Chevy Chase’s Early Relationship
Suzanne and Chevy developed their relationship quietly. There were no major public announcements surrounding their romance, and their courtship happened before Chevy became one of the most recognizable comedy performers of his generation.
Their relationship was built during a simpler stage of their lives. Chevy was pursuing entertainment opportunities, while Suzanne remained largely outside that professional world and continued to value a more private way of living.
Their different personalities also shaped their story. Chevy became known for an energetic and humorous public personality, while Suzanne preferred considerably less attention. Those differences became more noticeable as his professional life began moving toward greater visibility.
Their 1973 Wedding
Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase married on February 23, 1973, in New York City. Their wedding came before Chevy joined Saturday Night Live and before his name became closely associated with American television comedy.
The marriage represented an important new chapter for the young couple. At the time, Chevy was still developing his entertainment career, so their married life began without the level of celebrity attention that surrounded his later relationships.
After marrying, Suzanne became known as Chevy Chase’s first wife. The couple started building their life together while Chevy continued pursuing professional opportunities that would eventually change his career and public image dramatically.
Married Life With Chevy Chase
Suzanne’s marriage to Chevy lasted for almost three years. During this short but important period, she witnessed his transition from a developing entertainer toward the breakthrough that would soon make him a household name.
Their home life remained much less visible than Chevy’s developing professional career. Suzanne did not try to establish herself as a celebrity spouse and instead maintained the private personality that continued to define her later life.
The couple did not have children together. Their marriage ultimately ended shortly after Chevy’s career began entering a major new stage, making Suzanne part of the years immediately before and around his rise to national recognition.
Supporting Chevy’s Early Career
Suzanne was with Chevy during the uncertain period before his biggest professional successes. Building a comedy career offered no guarantee of lasting success, and Chevy was still searching for opportunities that could establish him within entertainment.
During those years, Suzanne shared his life while his professional ambitions continued developing. Their marriage therefore covered a very different stage from the wealthy and highly visible Hollywood lifestyle Chevy experienced during his later film career.
Her place in his early story is significant for this reason. Suzanne knew the person behind the future celebrity before major movies, large salaries, and widespread recognition became regular features of Chevy Chase’s professional world.
Why Suzanne and Chevy Chase Divorced
Suzanne and Chevy Chase’s marriage officially ended in divorce on February 1, 1976. Their relationship had lasted for approximately three years, and they went their separate ways without having any children together.
Chevy later described the breakup from his own perspective. He said Suzanne had an affair and left the relationship, presenting this as the event that brought their marriage to an end after their short time together.
Suzanne did not enter a public discussion about their breakup or offer a detailed account of the marriage. She continued with her private lifestyle, while Chevy’s growing fame made his personal and professional life increasingly visible.
Suzanne Chase’s Acting Work
Suzanne also explored acting during part of her life. Three titles associated with her are Shake Well Before Using, A Trip Down Mammary Lane, and Amateur Lesbians 8, showing a limited involvement in screen projects.
These projects did not lead Suzanne toward the kind of mainstream entertainment career later achieved by her former husband. Her screen work remained a relatively small part of her overall public identity and personal story.
Her path therefore became very different from Chevy’s. While he moved toward major television and film success, Suzanne gradually stepped away from wider attention and did not continue building a highly visible Hollywood career.
Life After Her Divorce
Following the divorce, Suzanne largely disappeared from public attention. She did not remain closely associated with Chevy’s professional career and avoided turning their former marriage into an opportunity to maintain a celebrity profile.
Her later relationships, family life, and everyday activities remained private. Suzanne did not regularly appear at Hollywood events or become a familiar figure in stories covering Chevy’s later career, marriages, or professional achievements.
This distance from fame became one of the strongest characteristics of her story. Despite having been married to someone who became internationally recognized, Suzanne chose a very different life and remained outside the celebrity world for decades.
Did Suzanne Chase Remarry?
Suzanne’s romantic life after her divorce from Chevy Chase stayed away from public attention. She did not build a visible celebrity relationship or regularly appear in entertainment coverage with another partner after leaving her first marriage.
Her private approach also kept details about any later marriage away from wider discussion. Rather than returning to the spotlight through another relationship, Suzanne continued maintaining the separation between her personal life and Chevy’s fame.
This privacy explains why her story remains centered mainly on her early relationship with Chevy. Her marriage between 1973 and 1976 continues to be the best-known chapter of her personal life.
Did Suzanne Chase Have Children?
Suzanne and Chevy Chase did not welcome any children during their marriage. Their relationship lasted from February 1973 until February 1976, and they separated before Chevy eventually started a family during a later marriage.
Information about Suzanne having children later in her life has remained outside her public story. Her withdrawal from celebrity attention meant that details about her family life after the divorce were kept away from entertainment coverage.
Chevy later became a father with his third wife, Jayni Luke. Their daughters are Cydney Chase, Caley Chase, and Emily Evelyn Chase, forming the family most commonly associated with his later personal life.
Suzanne Chase’s Private Lifestyle
Privacy became a defining feature of Suzanne’s life. She avoided interviews about her marriage, did not regularly attend celebrity events, and never built a public identity around being the former wife of a famous comedian.
This approach separated her from many people connected to major entertainers. Suzanne could have continued receiving attention through Chevy’s growing career, but she instead created distance between herself and the celebrity world surrounding him.
Her long absence from public life also explains why readers remain interested in her today. Much of that curiosity comes from the contrast between Chevy’s highly documented career and Suzanne’s remarkably quiet life after their divorce.
Chevy Chase After Their Divorce
Only months after his divorce from Suzanne, Chevy Chase married actress Jacqueline Carlin on December 4, 1976. Their marriage lasted until November 14, 1980, and the couple did not have children together.
Chevy later met Jayni Luke while working on the 1981 comedy Under the Rainbow. Jayni worked as a production coordinator, and their relationship eventually led to marriage on June 19, 1982, in Pacific Palisades.
His third marriage became considerably longer than his previous relationships. Chevy and Jayni built a family together and welcomed three daughters, while Suzanne continued living separately from the public world surrounding her former husband.
Chevy Chase’s Rise to Fame
Chevy’s professional life changed dramatically around the end of his marriage to Suzanne. His work on Saturday Night Live helped establish him as a major comedy personality and opened the door to a successful film career.
During the 1980s, he appeared in popular movies including Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and Fletch. These roles helped make him one of the most recognizable comedy actors of that era.
His career reportedly brought him around $7 million per movie during his peak years. This success created a lifestyle very different from the uncertain early career period he experienced while Suzanne was still part of his life.
Where Is Suzanne Chase Now?
Suzanne Chase remained outside the entertainment spotlight after separating from Chevy. She stopped making regular public appearances and did not use her connection with the famous comedian to maintain attention around her personal life.
As the years passed, information about her everyday activities became increasingly limited. Her career, relationships, and family matters stayed private, allowing her to create a life far removed from Chevy Chase’s continuing celebrity presence.
Today, Suzanne is still primarily remembered as Chevy Chase’s first wife. Yet her long commitment to privacy is equally important to understanding her story and why relatively little has emerged about her later years.
Final Thoughts
Suzanne Chase occupies a small but interesting place in Chevy Chase’s personal history. Born Susan Hewitt in 1949, she knew and married Chevy before his biggest television and movie successes transformed him into a major American comedy star.
Their marriage began in February 1973 and ended in February 1976. Although their relationship was relatively brief, Suzanne witnessed an important transitional period in Chevy’s personal life and developing entertainment career.
After their separation, the two followed completely different paths. Chevy embraced decades of public success, while Suzanne chose a quieter existence, leaving her early marriage as the best-known chapter of her story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Suzanne Chase?
Suzanne Chase, born Susan Hewitt in 1949, is best known as Chevy Chase’s first wife. She was part of his life before and during the early period when his comedy career was beginning to gain wider attention.
When did Suzanne Chase marry Chevy Chase?
Suzanne Chase married Chevy Chase on February 23, 1973, in New York City. Their wedding took place before Chevy became widely famous through Saturday Night Live and his later successful Hollywood comedy career.
Why did Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase divorce?
Their divorce was finalized on February 1, 1976. Chevy later said that Suzanne had an affair and left him. Suzanne did not publicly discuss the breakup or provide her own detailed account of their separation.
Did Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase have children?
No, Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase did not have children during their approximately three-year marriage. Chevy later had three daughters, Cydney, Caley, and Emily Evelyn Chase, with his third wife, Jayni Luke.
What happened to Suzanne Chase after the divorce?
After divorcing Chevy Chase, Suzanne largely withdrew from public life. She avoided celebrity events and interviews and kept her later relationships, family matters, and everyday activities away from widespread entertainment attention.
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