After undergoing a mastectomy and chemotherapy and cobalt treatments, she made a pact with God for another ten years of life in which to realize her passionate dream of becoming famous. Susann's 1962 diagnosis of breast cancer may have influenced her decision to change careers. However, the closest she came to genuine accolades was being named as television's best-dressed woman several times. The young woman had an insatiable desire for fame, and enjoyed moderate success in her 20-year career as a model and actress, appearing in 21 plays and on television in dramatic productions, panel shows, and commercials. Her academic career was marked by her lackluster performance in Philadelphia's public schools, which may have helped convince her parents to let her try her hand at acting in New York rather than attend college. As she grew up, Jacqueline developed an especially close relationship to her father, a portrait painter who counted Supreme Court justices and sports figures among his clients.

Jacqueline Susann was born on August 20, 1921, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Rose Jans Susann, a teacher, and Robert Susann. At the time of her death in 1974, her 1966 novel Valley of the Dolls was ranked as the bestselling book of all time by the Guinness Book of Records. Susann's flair for the dramatic-evinced in both her personal life and her narrative style-overcame the negative reviews to capture the interest of millions of readers. Using her show-business background, she drew on her personal relationships and experiences to produce wildly popular novels that were generally reviled by book critics as trashy and one-dimensional. Jacqueline Susann made her mark in the literary world with decidedly un-literary material. Selected writings:Įvery Night, Josephine! (1963) Valley of the Dolls (1966) The Love Machine (1969) Once Is Not Enough (1973) Dolores (1976) Yargo (1979). Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Augdied of cancer in New York City on Septemdaughter of Robert Susann (a portrait painter) and Rose (Jans) Susann (a teacher) educated in Philadelphia public schools married Irving Mansfield (a press agent and radio-television producer), in 1939 children: one son, Guy (b. Popular American author who wrote the bestseller Valley of the Dolls.

Yargo by Jacqueline Susann