Who Is Suzanne Chase? A Deep Dive into Chevy Chase’s First Marriage

Suzanne Chase has something about her that’s very interesting. She preferred to have no one ever stand within 10 feet of her because, in this day and age, someone who has ever been within 10 feet of a celebrity eventually turning it into a podcast, a book, or at least an officially verified account on Instagram, that wasn’t an option for her. Zero. For almost five decades, Chevy Chase’s first wife has been so out of the cultural spotlight that even the most serious of celebrity biographers can only be sure of a few details about her life.

But, whenever Chevy Chase is in the news, as he has been quite a lot this early 2026, with CNN’s documentary I’m Chevy Chase, and You’re Not revealing the complexities of his life in great detail. His wife, daughters, colleagues, and even his doctor made appearances in the documentary. Suzanne? Not a word. Not a frame. Not a mention.

That’s the quiet that speaks. But who is Suzanne Chase anyway, and what do we really know about her wedding to Chevy, and where is she now? Let’s assemble all of the information that is publicly known about the woman who was there before fame changed everything.

Suzanne Chase, who? Real Name and Background

Suzanne Chase’s birth name is Susan Hewitt. Born in the USA in 1949, she would be about 76 or 77 years old in 2026. This is basically the only public information that is known about her childhood.

No hometown. No information on her siblings or parents. No photos before marriage. No interviews during that time or any other time. She has not disclosed data on her parents, hometown, or childhood. There are no interviews, no old photos, no official statements.

The name “Suzanne Chase” is not her birth name; she took the name Suzanne Chase after marrying Chevy Chase in 1973. The detail that matters when one attempts to follow her in the absence of the marriage – Susan Hewitt predates the marriage altogether, and Suzanne Chase is only a public record because of the marriage.

It can be said that she was 23 or 24 when she married in the 1970s in New York City, in one of the most creatively dynamic decades in the history of New York City, one of the most creative cities on earth in the 1970s. Regardless of what her story was, it was unfolding in a very interesting place and time.

The Marriage: New York City, 1973

When Did Suzanne Chase Marry Chevy Chase?

They wed in NYC on February 23, 1973, shortly after Chevy’s career had taken off. There were no celebrity photographers, no splashy magazine spreads, and there wasn’t even a Hollywood guest list. At this time, after all, Chevy Chase wasn’t Hollywood. He was a young comedian, a young musician, he was on his way, he was working for shows, he was playing in little comedy clubs and he was thinking “what’s my next step? He was a young comedian, a young musician, grinding his way through New York’s comedy business, writing for shows, playing in little comedy venues and asking himself “what’s my next step?

The couple courted before their marriage, and from all accounts, their courtship was a true young couple romping in New York before tying the knot, in private. But Chevy was beginning his journey. He had yet to be involved in Saturday Night Live, and no one thought that he would be a big comedy star.

Suzanne Chase & Chevy Chase, Marriage Timeline

1. Early 1970s

Suzanne Hewitt and Chevy Chase meet and begin dating in New York City. Chevy is working in comedy but is not yet famous.

2. Feb 23, 1973

Wedding day. Simple, private ceremony in New York City. Susan Hewitt takes the name, Suzanne Chase.

3. Oct 1975

Saturday Night Live premieres. Chevy Chase becomes a breakout star almost overnight, and  Weekend Update makes him a household name.

4. Feb 1, 1976

Divorce finalized. The marriage ended after approximately three years. No children. Reasons never publicly disclosed.

5. Late 1976

Chevy Chase marries Jacqueline Carlin, his second wife, in the same year as the divorce from Suzanne.

The Timing, Before the Fame Arrived

One of the interesting things about Chevy Chase’s first marriage is what it was, and wasn’t. Suzanne Chase married an ambitious, talented man who didn’t have a lot of fame. All their marriage took place before SNL, before Caddyshack, before Fletch, before National Lampoon’s Vacation. She hadn’t known him as a star; she knew him as a young, struggling comedian.

She even wed the man before the myth was created. But when the myth came, she was long since gone.

That distinction matters. It is not the Chevy Chase that the world knows, Weekend Update, the Chevy that pratfalls, the cocky movie star, but the Chevy that Suzanne married. She was in the quiet years, she was in the uncertain years, she was in the years before everything changed.

Why Did Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase Divorce?

This is the query everyone wants answered,d and sadly, ly it’s the one that is still the most true to form unanswered. It’s unclear why they divorced. After some 3 years of marriage, no child, no ren, and no public comment on the day of the divorce, the divorce was completed on 1 Feb. 1976.

Some years later, there was one story. In his biography,aphy many years later, Chevy Chase stated that Suzanne had an affair and left him. This was the end of his marriage, he said. Suzanne was never heard from about this claim, nor did she resord nor tell her side of the story.

This is a big difference. Chevy Chase has decades of interviews to tell his story and an autobiography, and now a major CNN documentary. Suzanne Chase’s been silent for 50 years. The facts are as follows: If they were married, it was at all times a marriage between a man named John C. and a woman named Haverford Jones, who apparently went under the names of John and Jane; if not, it was a marriage between a man named John C. and a woman who was Haverford Jones; in either case, only the latter’s marriage has ever been made public, and then, not by him—or by the woman.

Chevy Chase’s Three Marriages: A Full Picture.

It’s helpful to understand the complete story surrounding Chevy’s personal life, three marriages to be exact, each with its own unique character and length, to appreciate Suzanne Chase’s role in Chevy’s life.

First Wife · 1973–1976

Suzanne Chase

Born Susan Hewitt, 1949. Married before Chevy was famous. No children. Divorced quietly in 1976. Has never spoken publicly about their marriage.

Second Wife · 1976–1980

Jacqueline Carlin

Actress. Married in 1976, the same year Chevy divorced Suzanne. Also ended in divorce after four years. No children together.

Third Wife · 1982–Present

Jayni Chase

Born Jayni Luke. Production coordinator. Met on a film set in 1981. Married in 1982. Three daughters: Cydney, Caley, and Emily. Together 44+ years.

The differences among the three marriages are extreme. The first two were relatively short-lived, including the Chevy Chase and Suzanne Chase union, which ended in divorce. The third, starring Jayni Luke, is now more than 40 years old and has given birth to three daughters and several grandchildren.

Jayni’s calm and disciplined nature helped to calm down Chevy’s turbulent life after his second divorce, according to People. Chevy himself has admitted that his relationships were not a good fit for him when he was suffering from drug and health problems, and Jayni was instrumental in helping him through.

Chevy Chase’s Rise to Fame, While Suzanne Stepped Back

Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase’s marriage has been the ironic one that has come and gone just as his career began to take off. Chevy Chase’s career took a turn for the worse after the divorce. He signed on to Saturday Night Live and was a success. His work for that show brought him to fame. He later transitioned to movies and had a stint in movies such as Caddyshack and National Lampoon’s Vacation. It was these roles that earned him the status of a prominent comedy star during his days.

Cornelius Crane Chase was the real name of Chevy Chase, and he started a comedy career that would spell the end of an era. He got his big break when he was hired for Saturday Night Live during its first season and became a staple of the Weekend Update segment.

Meanwhile, the fame, the films, the SNL legacy, and Suzanne Chase were doing just the opposite. She left her public career behind and continued to walk. No interviews with celebrities next to. No “my ex-husband is famous” tell-all. No social media comeback forty years later. Noocial media revival twenty-five years later. For fifty years, complete and deliberate silence.

How Chevy Chase got his way of life today, and his health.

The public was again captivated by Chevy Chase’s entire life story when I’m Chevy Chase, You’re Not aired on CNN on January 1, 2026, featuring interviews not only with Chase himself and Jayni but also with their daughters and colleagues such as Ryan Reynolds, Goldie Hawn, and Martin Short.

The documentary spoke straight, openly, and directly about his health crisis in 2021. His daughter Caley said: “[He] has basically come back from the dead. He had heart failure.” In 2021, the SNL alum was put into a coma for around eight days after he experienced heart failure. He was in the hospital for a total of five weeks.

The show also tackled a few of his dark side moments, from his departure from Community to his longstanding drug battles. In 2026, he resides quietly in Bedford, N,  with his wife, Jay, ni and avoids being in the public eye. His classic films continue to be popular on streaming sites.

This time in 2026, Chevy refers to Jayni not only as the love of his life but also as the most honest woman he’s ever met. Throughout his health crisis in 2021, Jayni has been his main caretaker and is always by his side.

Remarkably, the woman at the very beginning, before all of it, Suzanne Chase, did not appear in any way in the documentary.

What will happen to Suzanne Chase in 2026?

Nobody knows. Sounds like she wants just that.

Susan Hewitt (nee Suzanne Chase) has kept her personal life private for almost 50 years. She decided to go for privacy and not be close to fame. She selected one of the two choices: to be silent or tell herself the story. She never took it, not once, in nearly 50 years in a world where anybody who touches a celebrity could gettheir 155 minutes of fame.

No social media is available. There is no current known location. No photos from the post-divorce era. No interviews with any person, at any time, for any reason whatsoever. It’s an amazing thing for a woman who previously lived in the same house and shared her name with one of the most popular comedians of his generation to be completely anonymous.

She may have remarried, she may have moved to a different place, she may have done something different in the last 50 years since her divorce; all of this remains unknown. And, since she has been so consistent in protecting that privacy over the past 50 years, it’s safe to assume it will continue that way.

Final Thought

It’s not the marriage, the divorce, or even the mystery, but the interest of Suzanne Chase is in the fact that it was a marriage, a divorce, and a mystery. It’s the choice. She did none of this in an age when close proximity to fame is a currency, when people market stories and hawk memoirs and create brands based on having been close to the celebrity. For fifty years. It requires a certain determination and a certain level of contentment in the life she opted for.

Frequently Asked Questions about Suzanne Chase

Q1. Who is Suzanne Chase?

A1. Known as the first wife of actor and comedian Chevy Chase, Suzanne Chase (nee Susan Hewitt) was born in 1949. She wed on February 23rd, 197,3 in New York City, and divorced Chevy on February 1st, 1976. She has always been very private, and after the divorce, she has never done an interview or made a public statement regarding her past marriage.

Q2. What is Suzanne Chase’s real name?

A2. Suzanne Chase’s birth name is Susan Hewitt. Susan Hewitt was born in 1949 in the USA. On her husband’s deathbed, she adopted the name Chase in 1973 and has been known by the name Chevy Chase, which became Suzanne Chase, in all the coverage she received in her life as a celebrity.

Q3. When did Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase get married and divorced?

A3. Suzanne Chase married Chevy Chase in a private, simple ceremony in New York City on February 23, 1973. They were divorced on February 1st, 1976, after being married for about 3 years. They never had any children.

Q4. Why did Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase divorce?

A4. The official grounds of the divorce were not officially announced at the time. In later years, Chevy Chase stated in his biographical information that Suzanne had an affair, which was the cause of the breakup of the marriage. Suzanne has never publicly commented on this assertion, never told her side of the story, and has kept her mouth shut about it for almost a half-century.

Q5. Did Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase have any children?

A5. Suzanne Chase (nee Kern) and Chevy Chase never had any children. Chevy married his third wife, Jayni Chase, in 1982 and had three daughters, Cydney (1983), Caley (1985), and Emily (1988).

Q6. How many times was Chevy Chase married?

A6. Chevy Chase is a married man with three wives. Chevy Chase is a married man (has been married three times). He married first, Suzanne Chase (Susan Hewitt), between 1973 and 1976. He then wed actress Jacqueline Carlin in 197,6 and they shared the stage until 1980. He is married (third time) to Jayni Luke (now Jayni Chas, whom he married in June 1982. Jayni and Chevy have been together for over 44 years and have three daughters together.

Q7. What is Suzanne Chase doing in 2026?

A7. Suzanne Chase’s location is not known. She has kept her old marriage with Chevy Chase completely secret and has never made any public appearances, and no interviews have been conducted with her over the past 40 years after her divorce. Nothing has been publicly released about her with Chevy Chase. She was never joined by a spouse, nor did she have her own family; these are facts that have not been disclosed.

Q8. Where will Chevy Chase be in 2026?

A8. In 2021, Chevy Chase experienced a heart attack, spending five weeks in the hospital and eight days in a medically induced coma. He recovered and currently resides with his wife, Jayni, in a private residence in Bedford, NY, in 2026. CNN aired a documentary in January 2026 about his health issues, career controversies, and personal life that focused on his health crisis and controversies, as well as his personal life.