Anecdotes

Her first novel, "Valley of the Dolls", was the top selling novel of 1966. It has sold over ten million copies to date.

Godmother of Phoebe Cates.

Her only child, a son named Guy, was diagnosed as severely autistic and was institutionalized most of his life

Was so disappointed by the movie La Vallée des poupées (1967), an adaptation of her best-selling book of the same name, that she referred to it as a "piece of shit".

She was unflatteringly described by Truman Capote as looking "like a truck driver in drag".

Was Arlene Francis' understudy in the original Broadway production of Clare Boothe Luce's "The Women".

Is portrayed by Bette Midler in Isn't She Great (2000)

Referenced by name in Los Angeles punk band X's song "Adult Books".

In the mid 1970s, Susann was close friends with Doris Day, and when Day hesitated about writing her autobiography, Susann encouraged her to pursue the project, helped Day negotiate a lucrative contract with publisher William Morrow, and procured Hemingway biographer A.E. Hotchner as a collaborator. Doris Day: Her Own Story ended up being one of the top best-sellers of 1976.

Born at 7:25pm-EST