Background:

“You can't depend on accidents to make your career.” Susanna Hoffs

Susanna Hoffs is a Los Angeles-born singer/songwriter, musician and actress. She is famous as part of the 80s rock/pop all-female band The Bangles, along with sisters Debbi and Vicki Peterson and Michael Steele (quit 2005). The Bangles rose to prominence with their second album, “Different Light” (1986), which reached No. 2 in the US and No. 3 in the UK and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. It contained their first hit single, “Manic Monday,” as well as their first No. 1 hit, “Walk Like an Egyptian.” After the platinum selling album “Everything” (1988), which featured the big hit “Eternal Flame,” co-written and sung by Hoffs, the band disbanded. Hoffs went on to pursue music as a solo act with “When You're a Boy” (1991) and “Susanna Hoffs” (1996). However, both albums were not commercial successes. Her first solo single, “My Side Of The Bed,” made the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After a decade of hiatus, The Bangles reformed in 1999 when the foursome recoded a song for the soundtrack of “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.” The band followed it up with the studio albums “Doll Revolution” in 2003 and “Sweetheart of the Sun” in 2011.  

On the acting front, Hoffs, who was once ranked No. 43 on the VH1 list of “100 Sexiest Artists,” has appeared in such films as “Stony Island” (1978), “The Allnighter” (1987) and the Austin Powers films: “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” (1997) and “Austin Powers in Goldmember” (2002).

Hoffs is married to the director of “Austin Powers” and “Meet the Parents” movies Jay Roach. They have two sons together.


From Ballet to Music

Childhood and Family:

Susanna Lee Hoffs was born on January 17, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, to parents Joshua and Tamar Simon Hoffs. She was raised in a Jewish household along with her brothers John and Jesse. When she was a child, her mother used to play Beatles music for her. Susanna enrolled at Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles and went on to receive a Bachelor degree in Art from University of California, Berkeley in 1980. A fan of Classic Rock bands that performed in big stadiums while in college, she attended the final Sex Pistols show at Winterland and a Patti Smith concert, an exposure that inspired her to renew her goal from becoming a ballet dancer to a musician in a band.

On April 17, 1993, Susanna was married to the Albuquerque, New Mexico born film director, producer and screenwriter Jay Roach. She gave birth to her first child, son Jackson Roach on February 9, 1995 when she was 36. The couple's second son, Sam Rayfield Roach, was born on November 10, 1998 in Santa Monica, CA.  


My Side Of The Bed

Career:

Susanna Hoffs joined sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson to form a band in Los Angeles in December, 1980. Firstly known as The Bangs, the trio was sued by an already existing band with the same name and forced to rename the band. They then added “les” to their name as a tribute to their major influence, The Beatles.

With the lineup of Hoffs on vocals/ rhythm guitars, Vicki on lead guitars/vocals, Debbi on backing vocals/drums and Annette Zilinskas on backing vocals/bass, the Bangles released the self titled EP “The Bangles” in June 1982 on Faulty Products, a label formed by Miles Copeland. When the label folded, the I.R.S. Records picked up distribution and re-released the EP in 1983. Shortly after,  Zilinskas left the band in the mid-1983 and was replaced by bassist Michael Steele.

The Bangles launched their first full length album, “All Over the Place,” in May 1984 on Columbia Records. The David Kahne produced album was not a financial success and only peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard 200. However, it did give Hoffs and her bandmates the opportunity to open Cyndi Lauper and Huey Lewis and the News and eventually put them on the radar of Prince, who would write their first hit, “Manic Monday.” The album spawned two singles, “Hero Takes a Fall,” which Hoffs wrote with Vicky, and a cover of Katrina and the Waves, “Going Down to Liverpool.”  

The band's sophomore effort, “Different Light,” was released in the United States in January 1986 and in the United Kingdom on March 3, 1986 and went on to become their breakout hit. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The album also enjoyed strong chart success in European countries like the UK (#3), where it went platinum, Norway (#4), Switzerland (#16) and the Netherlands (# 24). The first single “Manic Monday” was released in January 1986 to generally positive reviews from music critics and reached No. 2 in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as in Austria, Canada, Germany and Ireland, and within top 5 in New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland. The song was certified silver by BPI. The band released “If She Knew What She Wants,” a cover of Jules Shear's song, as the second single from the album and it charted at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart. Hoffs and her bandmates did not have their first No. 1 hit until the release of the third single “Walk Like an Egyptian,” written by Liam Sternberg, in September 1986. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 from December 20, 1986 to January 10, 1987, on the German Singles chart during December 19, 1986 – January 9, 1987 and on the Australian (ARIA) Single chart on February 9, 1987. It peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles chart. The fourth single “Walking Down Your Street,” which Hoffs wrote with Louis Gutierrez and producer David Kahne, reached No. 11 on the US chart and No. 16 on the UK chart. Outside of The Bangles, Hoffs collaborated with Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg to write the song “I Need a Disguise” for the 1986 album “Belinda” for Belinda Carlisle, formerly of the all-girl group The Go-Go's.    

Fueled by The Bangles' mounting fame, Hoffs graced the covers of many magazines, and a Susanna Hoffs model of the 350 was launched by the Rickenbacker guitar company, which she  customized herself. Hoffs, who had tried an acting career with roles in the 1978 film “Stony Island” and the 1982 short “The Haircut,” was cast in the lead role of Molly Morrison on the comedy/romance movie “The Allnighter” (1987), opposite Dedee Pfeiffer and Joan Cusack. The film was directed and co-written by Hoof's mother, Tamar Simon Hoffs. She reunited with her mother for the short “Rock & Read” (1989), which also featured the voice of her band mate, Vicki.

On October 18, 1989, The Bangles released the third studio album “Everything,” which reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the UK Albums chart and went platinum in both sides of Atlantic. The lead single “In Your Room” reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100, and also charted in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Sung by Hoff, the follow up single “Eternal Flame” topped the charts in nine countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Both singles were written by Hoffs, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg.

After The Bangles broke up in 1989, Hoffs released her debut solo debut album, “When You're a Boy,” in 1991 on Columbia Records and with producer David Kahne. The album only peaked at No. 83 on the Billboard 200. It produced three singles: “My Side Of The Bed,” which reached No. 30 and No. 44 on the US and the UK charts, respectively, “Unconditional Love,” which charted at No. 65  in the UK, and “Only Love.” After the released of the album, Hoffs took several years hiatus to focus on her personal life.

Hoffs resurfaced with her second solo album, “Susanna Hoffs,” on September 24, 1996. The album, whose style is more folk oriented than her earlier work, led to disputes with Columbia Records  and she was eventually dropped by Sony. Hoffs then signed to London Records. Dealing with issues like abusive relationships, insecurities and assassination, “Susanna Hoffs” failed to chart, but it received stronger reviews than her debut. The single “All I Want” peaked at No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 32 on the UK Singles chart.   

In 1997, Hoffs had an uncredited part as a member of the fictitious 1960s rock group Ming Tea in the first Austin Powers movie, “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” which was directed by her husband, Jay Roach. She would reprise her part in the 2002 sequel “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”

Hoffs and other members of The Bangles began drifting back together in 1998 and officially re-formed to record a song for the soundtrack of the second Austin Powers film, “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” (1999). The song “Get The Girl” was released in 1999 and followed by a tour in 2000. On September 9, 2003, The Bangles released their fourth album, “Doll Revolution” on Koch Records. It charted on No. 62 on the UK Albums chart. The album produced the UK singles  “Something That You Said” (#38) and “Tear Off Your Own Head” (#79). In 2005, the band announced  the departure of Michael Steele.  

The Bangles' new studio album, “Sweetheart of the Sun,” was released on September 27, 2011 through Waterfront Records. It charted at No. 148 on the Billboard 200. In support of the album, Hoffs and her bandmates toured the East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast.


Awards:

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