Suzanne Chase — sometimes referenced by the name Suzanne Hewitt — is known almost entirely for one thing: she was married to comedian Chevy Chase before Saturday Night Live turned him into a household name. Their marriage lasted roughly three years, ended in the mid-1970s, and left almost no public trail on her side. Nearly fifty years later, she remains one of the most private people ever connected to a major American comedian.
This article lays out what’s actually documented about Suzanne Chase, what comes solely from Chevy Chase’s own account, and what’s simply been repeated so often online that it now looks like fact even though no verifiable source backs it up.
Who Is Suzanne Chase?
Suzanne Chase is best known as the first wife of Chevy Chase, married to him in 1973, years before he joined the original cast of Saturday Night Live in 1975. She has never given an interview, never issued a public statement, and never appeared in any confirmed public record tied to their marriage. Almost everything written about her — including on this page — is filtered through Chevy Chase’s own recollections, primarily from his 2007 biography, I’m Chevy Chase… and You’re Not, written with Rena Fruchter.
That distinction matters. A memoir is one person’s memory of events, not a verified record, and Suzanne has never confirmed or disputed a single detail in it.
Early Life and Background
What’s Actually Confirmed
Very little. No verified source documents Suzanne Chase’s parents, siblings, hometown, or upbringing. She has not discussed her early life publicly, and no independent reporting from the 1970s — when the marriage actually took place — has surfaced to fill in the gaps.
The Widely Repeated (But Unverified) Details
A number of recent articles state she was born Susan Hewitt in 1949 and give an exact wedding date of February 23, 1973. These specific figures appear across several websites in near-identical phrasing, which is usually a sign they originated from a single unsourced claim that got copied rather than independently confirmed. Treat the year of marriage (1973) and the approximate three-year length of the relationship as solid — those are corroborated by Chevy Chase’s own account — but treat the exact birth year and exact wedding date as unverified until a primary source (a public record, a contemporaneous news clipping, or a direct statement) surfaces.
How Suzanne Chase Met Chevy Chase
Before fame found him, Chevy Chase was a working musician. He attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, graduating in 1967, and played drums and keyboards in Chamaeleon Church, a short-lived psychedelic rock band that released one self-titled album in 1968. Around this period, Chase also took on odd jobs — construction, truck driving, supermarket produce work — while trying to break into comedy and entertainment.
According to his own account, he met Suzanne at a concert where he was performing. He was 25; she was 19. Neither had any connection to celebrity at the time — theirs was an ordinary young-adult relationship, not a Hollywood romance.
Suzanne and Chevy Chase’s Wedding (1973)
Chevy Chase and Suzanne married in 1973, at a point when he was still essentially unknown outside small New York comedy and music circles. No contemporary press coverage of the wedding exists, and no widely circulated photographs from the ceremony have ever surfaced — consistent with the fact that neither of them was a public figure yet.
This absence of documentation isn’t unusual for a private 1970s wedding between two non-famous people. What’s notable is that it never became documented later, even after Chase’s fame made every other chapter of his life a subject of public interest.
Their Marriage (1973–1976)
Life Before Saturday Night Live
For most of their marriage, Chase was still building his career rather than living it. Saturday Night Live premiered in October 1975, meaning the couple was still married when the show that made him famous first aired. Suzanne, by all accounts, was not part of that new public life — she wasn’t photographed at events, mentioned in early coverage of the show, or connected publicly to his rising profile.
Did They Have Children?
No public record indicates that Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase had children together. Chevy’s three daughters — Cydney, Caley, and Emily Evelyn Chase — were born later, during his third marriage, to Jayni Luke.
One detail that appears only in Chase’s memoir, and nowhere else, is his claim that Suzanne became pregnant during their relationship and agreed to end the pregnancy on the condition that he marry her. This is entirely his account. Suzanne has never addressed it in any form, so it should be read as a personal recollection, not an established fact.
Why Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase Divorced
Chevy Chase’s Account
The couple divorced in the mid-1970s (commonly cited as 1976) after about three years of marriage. In his 2007 biography, Chase attributed the split to infidelity on Suzanne’s part, describing it as the reason the marriage ended. That account is the only version of events that has ever been made public.
Suzanne’s Side — Why It’s Never Been Told
Suzanne Chase has never responded to, confirmed, or disputed that explanation — not in 2007 when the memoir was published, and not in the decades since. Because only one side of the story exists on the record, the actual reasons behind the divorce remain, in a strict sense, incomplete. This silence is the single most consistent fact of her public life: she has never once broken it, regardless of how much attention Chase’s career has drawn.
Suzanne Chase’s Life After the Divorce
Did She Remarry?
There is no confirmed public information about whether Suzanne Chase remarried, had a later career, or where she has lived since the 1970s. Some articles online list acting credits under her name, but these claims are not traceable to a verifiable source and should be treated with skepticism rather than repeated as fact — this is exactly the kind of unverified detail that tends to spread across low-quality SEO content without ever being checked.
What We Can Say With Confidence
She did not pursue public life in any conventional sense. No interviews, no memoirs, no social media presence, and no attendance at events connected to Chevy Chase’s career have ever been documented. That’s a fifty-year pattern, not a coincidence.
Chevy Chase’s Life After Suzanne
Marriage to Jacqueline Carlin
Chase remarried quickly after his divorce from Suzanne, marrying actress Jacqueline Carlin in December 1976. That marriage lasted only a few years before ending in 1980.
Marriage to Jayni Luke and Their Children
In 1982, Chase married Jayni Luke, a production coordinator he met on a film set. Unlike his first two marriages, this one has lasted more than four decades, and the couple has three daughters together: Cydney, Caley, and Emily Evelyn Chase.
Rise to Fame
Chase joined the original cast of Saturday Night Live in 1975 and went on to build one of the most recognizable comedy careers of the 1980s, with roles in Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and Fletch cementing his star status.
Chevy Chase Today (2026 Update)
A CNN documentary titled I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not premiered on January 1, 2026, revealing that Chase suffered a serious heart episode in 2021, developing cardiomyopathy and spending roughly eight days in a medically induced coma. He has since recovered, though he reportedly experiences ongoing memory gaps as a result. Suzanne Chase has not been mentioned in connection with the documentary or any recent coverage of his life — a continuation of the same silence she’s maintained since 1976.
Fact vs. Speculation: What’s Actually Verified
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| Married Chevy Chase in 1973 | Confirmed (his own account) |
| Divorced after ~3 years, mid-1970s | Confirmed |
| Chase cited infidelity as the cause | Confirmed as his claim only |
| No children from the marriage | Widely reported, consistent across sources |
| Exact wedding date (Feb 23, 1973) | Unverified — appears only in uncorroborated web copy |
| Birth name “Susan Hewitt,” born 1949 | Unverified — no traceable primary source |
| Acting/film credits | Unverified — treat with caution |
| Current whereabouts, remarriage status | Unknown |
Conclusion
Suzanne Chase’s place in public memory rests on three years spent married to a man before the world knew his name. She has never given an interview, never confirmed a detail from Chevy Chase’s memoir, and never surfaced in any capacity since their 1976 divorce. What sets her apart isn’t just the privacy itself, but how consistently she’s maintained it — for nearly fifty years, through one husband’s rise to fame, three marriages on his side, a bestselling memoir, and a 2026 documentary. In an era where almost anyone connected to a celebrity eventually says something publicly, Suzanne Chase never has.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Suzanne Chase?
Suzanne Chase is the first wife of comedian Chevy Chase. They were married from 1973 until their divorce roughly three years later, before he became famous through Saturday Night Live.
When did Suzanne Chase marry Chevy Chase?
They married in 1973. An exact date is widely cited online but not independently verifiable.
Why did Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase divorce?
Chase has said in his biography that infidelity ended the marriage. Suzanne has never publicly responded to or confirmed this account.
Did Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase have children?
No. No public record shows any children from their marriage.
Is Suzanne Chase still alive?
There is no confirmed public information about her current status.
Did she remarry?
Unknown. No verified record confirms a later marriage.
How many times has Chevy Chase been married?
Three times: to Suzanne Chase (1973–1976), Jacqueline Carlin (1976–1980), and Jayni Luke (1982–present).
