Suzanne Pleshette was born on the 31st January 1937, in New York City, USA and was an award- winning stage, television and film actress, and voice actress, best known to the world as Annie Hayworth in the mystery horror “The Birds” (1963), and as Emily Hartley in the TV comedy series “The Bob Newhart Show” (1972-1978), among many other appearances. She passed away in 2008.
Have you ever wondered how rich Suzanne Pleshette was at the time of her death? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Pleshette’s net worth was as high as $5 million, an amount earned through her successful career as an actress, which started in 1957 and ended in 2004.
Suzanne Pleshette Net Worth $5 Million
Suzanne was of mixed descent – her parents had Russian, Austrian and Hungarian ancestry, and were Jewish as well. Her mother was Geraldine Rivers, a dancer, and her father was Eugene Pleshette, who worked as a stage manager, including of the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn.
Suzanne went to the High School of Performing Arts, after which she enrolled at Syracuse University, but after one semester she transferred to Finch College. She also graduated from Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, and then studied acting under the legendary Sanford Meisner.
Suzanne started her career on stage, debuting on Broadway in “Compulsion”, by Meyer Levin in 1957. Slowly building her name, Suzanne featured in the “The Cold and the Warm” in 1958, and stayed active on stage until the early ‘60s, appearing in such plays as “Golden Fleecing” (1959), “Gypsy” (1959), and “The Miracle Worker” (1961), all of which added to her net worth.
Her screen career started in 1957 with a minor role in the TV series “Harbormaster”, and the following year made a film debut in the comedy “The Geisha Boy”, while in 1962 she starred in the romantic drama “Rome Adventure”, with Troy Donahue and Rossano Brazzi, and the following year she had a breakthrough with the role of Annie Hayworth in the horror mystery “The Birds”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. She continued successfully throughout the ‘60s, with roles in different genre films, such as the western “A Distant Trumpet” (1964), then mystery thriller “Fate Is the Hunter” the same year, then the drama “A Rage to Live” (1965), and romantic comedy “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium” (1969), all of which added to her net worth.
Looking to build on her success from the mid- to late- ‘60s, Suzanne had numerous lead roles throughout the ‘70s, although some of the films didn’t achieve commercial success. However, those that did increased Suzanne’s net worth to a large degree. From 1972 to 1978 she portrayed Emily Hartley in the TV comedy series “The Bob Newhart Show”, next to Bob Newhart and Bill Daily, and in 1979 appeared in the drama “Flesh & Blood”, with Tom Berenger, Luca Bercovici, and John Cassavetes as the stars of the film.
In the ‘80s, Suzanne focused on made-for-television films, hence she had roles in some successful productions such as “Oh, God! Book II” (1980), and “Alone in the Neon Jungle” (1989). Also, she featured in several TV series, such as “Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs” (1984), and “Nightingales” (1989).
Nothing changed for Suzanne in the early ‘90s, as she played the title role in the made-for-television drama “Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean” (1990), for which she received Golden Globe Award- nomination in the category Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, and then played Jackie Hansen in the TV comedy series “The Boys Are Back”, from 1994 to 1995. In the late ’90s, she started doing voice work, making her debut as the voice of Zira in the animated adventure “The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride” (1998), and then again voiced Zira in the video game “The Lion King: Simba’s Mighty Adventure” in 2000. The following years she voiced Yubaba / Zeniba in the English version of the popular Japanese animated film “Spirited Away”. In 2002 she was selected for the role of Claire Arnold in the TV comedy series “Good Morning, Miami” (2002-2003), and also starting in 2002 she played Louis Whitley in the TV comedy series “Will & Grace”, until 2004. He net worth was still rising.
Regarding her personal life, at the time of her death, she was married to Tom Preston; the couple married in 2001. Previously, she was married to Troy Donahue for eight months in 1964, and from 1968 she was married to Thomas J. Gallagher III until his death in 2000. Suzanne didn’t have any children, but she suffered a miscarriage while married to her second husband. died on the 19th January 2008 USA. Suzanne passed away on the 19th January 2008 in Los Angeles, California after respiratory failure. She suffered from lung-cancer from 2006 onwards, until her death, having been a heavy smoker, which probably caused her health problems. The cancer caused several other health problems to Suzanne, including pneumonia, and one part of her lungs was removed.
She passed away just several days before the unveiling of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which was held on the 31st January 2008.
