Profile of Susanna Hoffs on Famous Like Me

Susanna Hoffs (born 17 January 1959) is a vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Bangles. She has also released two albums as a solo artist.

Biography

Early life

Hoffs (birth name: Susanna Lee Hoffs) was born in Newport Beach, California. Her mother was a fan of The Beatles and played their records for Hoffs when she was a child. She began playing the guitar in her teens, and hooked up with Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson who needed a singer for their band, which would later become The Bangles. Susanna attended Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. In 1980, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a BFA in Art History.

The Bangles years

The Bangles released their first album All Over The Place in 1984, but their major breakthrough album was Different Light in 1986, with the hit singles "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like an Egyptian". Her fame rising, Susanna starred in the movie The Allnighter in 1987. It was directed by her mother Tamar Simon Hoffs and also featured Joan Cusack and Pam Grier. She also made the covers of many magazines, and the Rickenbacker guitar company issued a Susanna Hoffs model which she still plays during gigs. Although the Bangles did not have a set lead vocalist, and the girls alternated on singing, Susanna was perceived by many casual fans to be the main vocalist. She also received by far the most media attention, which lead to tensions within the band. The Bangles released their very successful third album Everything in 1988, with their biggest selling single "Eternal Flame". But the breakup was inevitable, and they disbanded in 1989.

Solo career and personal life

Susanna released a solo album, When You're a Boy in 1991, which didn't sell very well. In 1993 she married Jay Roach, later the director of the Austin Powers movies and Meet the Parents and producer of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They have two sons, born in 1995 and 1998. In 1996, Susanna released her second solo album, Susanna Hoffs, this time with more personal lyrics and a more mature sound. Although it received some praise in the press, it didn't sell well either.

Hoffs appears in the first Austin Powers movie as a member of the fictitious 1960s rock group, Ming Tea, fronted by the title character. In real-life, Ming Tea consisted of actor Mike Myers, Hoffs, Canadian musician/producer Christopher Ward, and singer Matthew Sweet. This group made a number of TV performances (with Myers in character as Powers) and had a minor hit with the song "BBC". Hoffs returned with the group in the second and third Austin Powers films.

Bangles reunion

In the late 1990s, Susanna started to contact the other members of the Bangles again. They recorded the single Get the Girl for the second Austin Powers movie in 1999. Playing together and enjoying themselves, they announced their decision to reunite in 2000. Their fourth album, called Doll Revolution, was released in 2003, followed by a tour. Susanna also revealed in an interview how she had been approached by several adult magazines in the 1980s, but turned down the offers.

Trivia

• Height: 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
• Studied to become a ballet dancer when she was a teenager
• Has two brothers, John and Jesse, and two sons: Jackson (born 9 February 1995) and Sam (born 10 November 1998). She lives in Santa Monica, California.

Discography

With the Bangles

• The Bangles (EP) (1982)
• All Over The Place (1984)
• Different Light (1986)
• Everything (1988)
• Greatest Hits (1990)
• Doll Revolution (2003)

Solo

• When You're A Boy (1991)
• Susanna Hoffs (1996)
• New forthcoming solo album (2006)

DVDs, films

• Stony Island (1978)
• The Haircut (1982)
• The Allnighter (1987)
• The Bangles - Greatest Hits: Videos (VHS) (1990)
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
• Doll Revolution Bonus DVD (2003)
• The Bangles - Greatest Hits: Videos (DVD) (2005)

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