‘Kate & Allie' Star Susan Saint James, 79, Looks Incredible 37 Years After the Sitcom Ended
Susan Saint James may not act anymore, but the entertainment icon looks incredible at 79.
Saint James, 79, rose to stardom in detective series like It Takes a Thief and McMillan & Wife. However, it was her role as a single mom alongside Jane Curtin in the hit '80s sitcomKate & Allie that made her a household name. The duo played two divorced mothers who decide to live together and raise their kids in the same house in New York City. The show ran from 1984 to 1989, and Saint James decided to stop acting after that. But in a new spread in PEOPLE, the TV icon returns to the spotlight and looks better than ever.
Still sporting her classic brown hair, Saint James hasn't changed very much in the 37 years since Kate & Allie ended. The star shone brighter than ever as she opened up about learning that Shrinking star Christa Miller is actually her niece.
How They Discovered They Were Related
When Miller was 11, her grandmother handed her a copy of PEOPLE that had Saint James on the cover, and told her she was her aunt. Christa learned her biological father was a man named Chuck Miller, Susan's brother.
At 16, Miller finally reconnected with Saint James.
"It was seamless," Miller shared. "I felt like, ‘Oh, this is my family.' Susan instantly welcomed me and brought sunshine into my life."
The Devastating Loss of Her Son, Teddy
In 2004, Saint James was dropped off in Colorado by a private plane carrying her husband, NBC executive Dick Ebersol, and two of the couple's sons, Teddy and Charlie. After the jet headed back into flight, it went down and skidded on its nose before crashing through a fence and hitting an embankment, PEOPLE reported. While Ebersol and Charlie survived with injuries, Teddy and the plane's crew died.
Saint James later shared that she was grateful the family had a wonderful holiday together before the tragedy.
"There's so many ways that these things can happen," she told PEOPLE. "You can have an argument the night before, or you're far away or working. It's a whole other experience that we had, because we could just remember the hilarious time that we had in L.A. Everybody has really fond memory of that, and everybody said, 'Oh, I love you. See you at Christmas. Goodbye."
Related: 42 Years Ago Today, Hit CBS Sitcom Was Born in NYC-But One Star Almost Said ‘No'
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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 11:08 AM.