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Susan Dey (born December 10, 1952) is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in film and television. Her more prominent parts came as elder daughter, Laurie Partridge, on the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Family, and as Grace Van Owen, a California assistant district attorney and judge on the dramatic series, L.A. Law, a role she played from 1986 to 1992. Dey was born Susan Hallock Smith in Pekin, Illinois, the daughter of Gail (née Dey), a nurse who died of pneumonia when Dey was eight years old, and Robert Smith, a newspaper editor. She adopted her mother's maiden name as her... MORE

Susan Dey (born December 10, 1952) is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in film and television. Her more prominent parts came as elder daughter, Laurie Partridge, on the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Family, and as Grace Van Owen, a California assistant district attorney and judge on the dramatic series, L.A. Law, a role she played from 1986 to 1992. Dey was born Susan Hallock Smith in Pekin, Illinois, the daughter of Gail (née Dey), a nurse who died of pneumonia when Dey was eight years old, and Robert Smith, a newspaper editor. She adopted her mother's maiden name as her professional name. She graduated from Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York. Dey was a model before starring as Laurie Partridge in the television series The Partridge Family from 1970–1974. She was 17 years old when she won the part and had no previous acting experience. In a 1977 made-for-television movie, Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night, Dey portrayed a disturbed young mother with serious psychological problems, who begins to take them out on her toddler daughter. Also in 1977, Dey starred opposite William Katt in a romance film, First Love, directed by Joan Darling. The movie is based upon LESS