Occupation: Actress

Children: Heather and Benji Rydell

Relationships: Jordan Rydell, Troy Beauchamp, Brett Armstrong

Appearances: Seasons 4 – 6

Who’d Play Her: Brooke Shields

The Woman Who Survived the Truth: Suzanne built a successful career as an actress, but behind her glamorous public image was a life shaped by secrets, guilt, and emotional upheaval. Her long and complicated relationship with powerful producer Jordan Rydell produced two children, Heather and Benji, yet their family was fractured by Jordan’s affair with Sylvie Distefano. When Suzanne attempted to leave him, she and Heather were involved in a serious car accident that left Heather with lasting neurological damage and recurring blackouts.

Suzanne’s disappearance soon afterward became one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries. The truth was far darker than anyone suspected. Victor Distefano, seeking revenge against Jordan, disguised himself as psychiatrist Dr. Wainwright and placed Suzanne under hypnosis. Acting under Victor’s control, she attempted to kill Jordan with a tire iron but mistakenly murdered his half-brother, Troy. Terrified that no one would believe the circumstances, Jordan buried Troy’s body and secretly sent Suzanne to a clinic in Switzerland, allowing everyone—including their children—to believe she had simply abandoned the family.

Heather and five-year-old Benji witnessed the killing, though Heather repressed the memory after her accident. Jordan sent Benji to boarding school in Switzerland, leaving both children scarred by a tragedy they could not understand. Years later, Victor returned under another false identity and used the same methods to manipulate Heather into trying to murder Jordan. Suzanne finally returned from the Swiss clinic as the truth was exposed, but she was arrested for Troy’s death before investigators accepted that she had acted under hypnosis.

Suzanne’s return brought her back into Jordan’s life, but their relationship remained burdened by betrayal and resentment. They eventually remarried in an effort to rebuild their fractured family, particularly for Benji’s sake. The reunion did not last. While Heather was institutionalized following a psychological collapse, Suzanne began an affair with Heather’s husband, Brett. When Jordan discovered them together, he retaliated by firing Brett and attempting to take custody of Brett and Heather’s daughter, Violet. Suzanne testified on Brett’s behalf, helping him retain custody and permanently destroying her renewed marriage to Jordan.

Suzanne’s relationship with Brett was passionate but deeply complicated. She became a maternal figure to Violet while also carrying guilt over betraying her own daughter. Brett’s devotion to Suzanne became clear when she disappeared into a self-help commune in Death Valley. Emotionally devastated and searching for purpose, Suzanne became devoted to charismatic guru Warren Abbott and surrendered more than one hundred thousand dollars to his community, New Abbott. Under Warren’s influence, she and her creative writing professor robbed Jordan’s home to provide more money to the compound.

Brett tracked Suzanne to Death Valley and discovered that Warren was a con man exploiting lonely and vulnerable followers. Suzanne initially rejected Brett’s warnings, insisting that she had found peace and had nothing left for her in Los Angeles. After Warren captured and beat Brett, however, Suzanne began to recognize the truth and attempted to free him. Together they exposed Warren’s plan to destroy the compound and escape with the money. Brett and Suzanne narrowly survived when Warren detonated explosives throughout New Abbott, though Warren vanished in the aftermath.

Suzanne’s already fragile relationship with Benji was destroyed when he arranged for the publication of her private manuscript Valley of Temptation. The book exposed painful secrets about her affair with Brett. Benji never fully forgave Suzanne for leaving him as a child, even though her disappearance had not been voluntary. When his increasingly violent behavior culminated in Sierra Merteuil’s murder and his own death while fleeing police, Suzanne was left grieving a son whose wounds had begun with the night he watched her commit a killing she could not control.