Background and career
Susan Florence Anspach (ONS-bok ; November 23, 1942 – April 2, 2018) was an American stage, film and television actress who had roles in films during the 1970s and 1980s such as Five Easy Pieces (1970), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Blume in Love (1973), Montenegro (1981), Blue Monkey (1987), and Blood Red (1989).
Anspach was born and raised in Queens, New York City. Her mother was Gertrude (née Kehoe), a secretary and former singer of Scottish and Irish ancestry. Her father was Renald Anspach, a World War II Army veteran and later factory worker, who was of German-Jewish and English descent. The couple met at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Anspach's grandfather had disapproved of the marriage and disowned his son. Anspach was raised by her great-aunt until Anspach was six, when her aunt died. She went back to live with her parents in what grew to be an abusive home; she ran away at age 15. With the help of a Roman Catholic organization, she moved in with a family in Harlem. Anspach graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City in 1960. She received a full scholarship to the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She studied music and drama. Anspach made her professional debut in Thornton Wilder's one-act play Pullman Car Hiawatha at a summer theater in Maryland. After college, she moved back to New York City.
Anspach starred in several Broadway and off-Broadway shows, including as Sheila, the female lead in the musical Hair. The production ran for 45 performances at the Cheetah Theatre. She was in a play with Al Pacino while at the Actors Studio. She starred off-Broadway in 1965 in A View from the Bridge with Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, and Dustin Hoffman. Anspach first came to prominence in the 1970 film Five Easy Pieces, directed by Bob Rafelson and starring Jack Nicholson. Vincent Canby of The New York Times called her "one of America's most charming and talented actresses". She followed this with a supporting role in Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam (1972) and a more prominent role in Paul Mazursky's romantic comedy Blume in Love (1973), alongside George Segal and Kris Kristofferson. Anspach originally was cast in the role of country singer Barbara Jean in the 1975 film Nashville, but her salary request exceeded the ensemble film's budget; she was replaced by Ronee Blakley. In her film career, Anspach starred in 19 features and eight television movies and also was featured in two series, The Yellow Rose and The Slap Maxwell Story (with Dabney Coleman). She guest-starred in the NBC romantic anthology series Love Story in 1973, in the episode "All My Tomorrows".
Anspach was raised in the Catholic faith of her mother. She said that the church and her psychoanalyst were her "parents" for close to 10 years of her youth. Anspach had a daughter, Catherine Curry (born October 15, 1968) with fellow Hair cast member Steve Curry. She had a son, Caleb Goddard (born September 26, 1970), with Jack Nicholson. She married actor Mark Goddard in June 1970 and divorced him in October 1978. Goddard adopted both children. Anspach married musician Sherwood Ball (son of musician-entrepreneur Ernie Ball) in 1982 and divorced him in 1988.
Anspach marched with United Farm Workers head Cesar Chavez. She protested against the apartheid system of South Africa. Anspach also advocated for human rights in Central America.
Anspach died from heart failure on April 2, 2018, aged 75, in her Los Angeles home.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
