Susan Dee Robbins: The Private Story of Dale Robertson’s Wife, Their 33-Year Marriage, Family Life and Her Life After Hollywood

Susan Dee Robbins is best known as the longtime wife of famous Western actor Dale Robertson, but her own story is very different from the glamorous Hollywood life many people might imagine. Susan largely stayed away from cameras, enjoyed a quieter life with her husband, and remained beside him for more than three decades. After Dale died, she also took an important step to preserve his story by writing a book about his life.

Susan Dee Robbins Quick Bio

Susan is one of those people whose name became famous without her actually trying to become a celebrity.

Dale Robertson spent decades appearing on television and in movies. Susan, however, preferred a much quieter role.

So who exactly is Susan Dee Robbins, how did she become part of Dale Robertson’s life, and what happened to her after his death?

Here is her story.

Who Is Susan Dee Robbins?

Susan Dee Robbins, also known after marriage as Susan Robertson, was Dale Robertson’s final wife.

Dale was already a major Hollywood name long before Susan entered his life. He became particularly famous for playing Jim Hardie in the television Western Tales of Wells Fargo and later appeared in series including Iron Horse, Death Valley Days, Dynasty, and Dallas.

Susan did not follow the same path.

She was not known for acting, directing, or appearing regularly on television.

Instead, most of the public interest surrounding Susan comes from her long marriage to Dale and the quiet life they shared away from Hollywood.

That privacy also explains why many basic facts about Susan are difficult to confirm.

When Was Susan Dee Robbins Born?

This is one of the biggest questions surrounding Susan.

Several online biographies claim that she was born in 1954, sometimes listing California as her birthplace. However, strong primary or major biographical sources do not clearly confirm an exact date of birth.

Because of that, it is safer not to present a specific birthday or age as established fact.

Susan herself has not built a public celebrity profile filled with personal details.

Unlike actors who have interviews, official biographies, and decades of media coverage, she spent much of her life outside the entertainment spotlight.

That naturally leaves some gaps in her early story.

Susan Dee Robbins’ Childhood and Family

Very little reliable information is publicly available about Susan’s parents, siblings, childhood, or education.

That may sound surprising considering how famous her husband became.

But Susan was never trying to turn her private background into a public story.

Most information about her begins around the period when she met Dale Robertson.

This is an important point because many websites fill these missing years with exact dates or family details that cannot easily be verified.

When reliable information is missing, it is better to say so than to turn guesses into facts.

What Did Susan Dee Robbins Do Before Meeting Dale Robertson?

Susan is widely described in secondary biographies as having worked as a flight attendant, often specifically for American Airlines.

That job is also connected to the popular story about how she first met Dale.

Working as a flight attendant would have meant meeting people from many different backgrounds every day.

One passenger, according to the commonly repeated account, would eventually change Susan’s life.

That passenger was Dale Robertson.

How Did Susan Dee Robbins Meet Dale Robertson?

The most frequently reported version of their meeting says Dale Robertson met Susan while she was working as a flight attendant.

At that point, Dale was far from an unknown actor.

He had already spent years building his career as one of America’s recognizable Western stars.

Susan came from outside that Hollywood world.

Perhaps that difference helped make their relationship special.

Instead of beginning on a movie set or at a glamorous Hollywood party, their story appears to have developed away from the usual entertainment-industry environment.

The couple eventually decided to marry.

When Did Susan Dee Robbins and Dale Robertson Get Married?

Susan Dee Robbins and Dale Robertson married on February 2, 1980, according to IMDb’s family information for the actor.

Susan became Dale’s final wife.

Their marriage proved remarkably long-lasting.

When Dale died in 2013, the Los Angeles Times described Susan as his wife of 33 years.

That means they shared more than three decades together.

For a couple connected to Hollywood, where relationships often receive endless media attention, Susan and Dale’s marriage was surprisingly private.

Was Susan Dee Robbins Dale Robertson’s First Wife?

No.

Dale had been married before meeting Susan.

His earlier relationships included marriages to Frederica Jacqueline Wilson, actress Mary Murphy, and Lula Mae Maxey. Susan later became his final wife.

By the time Susan entered his life, Dale had already experienced fame, career pressure, relationships, and decades of Hollywood life.

Their marriage therefore belonged to a different period in his story.

Dale was becoming increasingly interested in a peaceful life away from studios and movie sets.

Susan appears to have shared that quieter lifestyle with him.

Susan and Dale Robertson’s Life Away From Hollywood

One of the most interesting things about Dale Robertson was that he was not simply pretending to be a cowboy for television.

Horses were genuinely important to him.

After his major acting years, he spent considerable time around horses and ranch life.

Susan shared this part of his world.

Dale eventually retired from acting and spent more time at his ranch near Yukon, Oklahoma, where he raised horses.

Imagine how different that must have felt from Hollywood.

Instead of movie sets, cameras, scripts, and premieres, daily life could revolve around land, animals, family, and ordinary routines.

For Susan, who never seemed interested in becoming a major public personality herself, it appears to have been a natural fit.

Why Susan Dee Robbins Stayed Out of the Spotlight

Being married to a famous actor does not automatically mean someone wants fame too.

Susan is a good example.

There are relatively few major interviews focusing entirely on her.

She did not appear to build an entertainment career using Dale’s name.

She also did not spend decades sharing every part of their relationship publicly.

That privacy is one reason people remain curious about her today.

Ironically, staying away from fame often makes people even more interested.

Readers discover Dale Robertson through old movies or Western television shows, learn that he was married for 33 years to Susan, and naturally begin asking who she was.

Did Susan Dee Robbins Have Children With Dale Robertson?

There is no reliable public record showing that Susan and Dale had biological children together.

Dale did have children from earlier relationships.

His 2013 Los Angeles Times obituary reported that he was survived by Susan and two children.

Another obituary specifically mentioned his daughter Rochelle Robertson and granddaughter Jade Angelica Fusco Robertson.

Online sources sometimes disagree about the exact details of Dale’s family structure.

Because of those differences, claims about Susan’s role as a stepmother should be handled carefully rather than exaggerated.

What is clear is that family continued to matter deeply in Dale’s later life.

What Happened to Dale Robertson?

Dale Robertson died in the San Diego area in February 2013 at the age of 89.

The Los Angeles Times reported that he had pneumonia and lung cancer.

His death ended a marriage that had lasted approximately 33 years.

For Susan, it meant losing the person with whom she had shared more than three decades.

But Dale’s death did not completely end Susan’s connection to his public story.

Several years later, she chose a surprising new way to keep his memory alive.

She became an author.

Susan Robertson Wrote Bucking Hollywood

In 2019, Susan Robertson published Bucking Hollywood, a biography about Dale Robertson.

This is one of the most important confirmed parts of Susan’s own public life.

Google Books lists Bucking Hollywood as a 396-page biography published by Page Publishing in April 2019.

The book tells Dale’s story from the perspective of the person who knew him closely: his wife.

Susan explained that Dale had never completed an autobiography himself.

So she decided to preserve his story.

Rather than disappearing completely from anything connected with Hollywood after his death, Susan turned her memories into something Dale’s fans could keep.

That makes her role more important than simply being described as “Dale Robertson’s wife.”

She also became one of the people responsible for preserving his legacy.

Why Did Susan Write the Book?

According to the publisher’s description, Susan wanted to write the story herself instead of handing it to a ghostwriter.

She wanted her own thoughts, memories, and understanding of Dale to shape the book.

That makes sense.

A journalist could research Dale Robertson’s films.

A television historian could study his shows.

A fan could collect photographs.

But Susan had something those people did not have: decades of everyday life with him.

She knew the man who existed after cameras stopped filming.

That personal perspective gave her a different story to tell.

Bucking Hollywood Also Received Recognition

Susan’s book did more than simply reach the market.

Bucking Hollywood appeared among the winners of a 2019 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in the biography category.

For someone who reportedly did not see herself as a professional writer at first, that was an interesting achievement.

It also gave Susan an identity beyond being associated with Dale through marriage.

She became the author who documented his story for future readers.

Where Did Susan Dee Robbins Live After Dale’s Death?

Susan’s 2019 author information for Bucking Hollywood stated that she was living in San Diego, California, so she could be closer to family.

However, that information comes from the period when the book was released.

It should not automatically be treated as her exact residence today.

Susan continues to keep her personal life private, and there is little dependable recent reporting about her day-to-day activities.

That is why claims saying exactly where she lives in 2026 should be treated carefully unless Susan or another reliable source confirms them.

What Is Susan Dee Robbins Doing Today?

There is no detailed, reliable public account showing Susan maintaining an active celebrity career today.

Her most notable public project after Dale’s death remains Bucking Hollywood.

Beyond that, her private life has stayed largely private.

This fits the pattern we see throughout her story.

Susan never appeared interested in constantly being photographed or discussed.

Even when she finally stepped forward as an author, the reason was closely connected to preserving Dale’s story rather than seeking celebrity attention for herself.

Is Susan Dee Robbins an Actress?

There is no reliable filmography showing Susan Dee Robbins had a professional acting career.

This is sometimes confusing because searches for her name naturally bring up Hollywood.

But that Hollywood connection comes mainly through her husband.

Dale Robertson was the actor.

Susan was his partner and later the author of his biography.

There is an important difference between appearing publicly beside a famous husband and being a professional actress.

Susan is better described as Dale Robertson’s widow and the author of Bucking Hollywood.

Susan Dee Robbins’ Net Worth

Readers frequently search for “Susan Dee Robbins net worth.”

Unfortunately, there is no dependable public financial record establishing her exact wealth.

Some celebrity websites give specific numbers, but those estimates are not supported by verified financial statements.

We do not publicly know the full value of Susan’s property, savings, investments, book earnings, inheritance, or financial obligations.

Because of that, assigning her an exact net worth would mostly be speculation.

Dale had enjoyed a successful acting career and owned valuable horses and ranch interests during his lifetime.

But that does not give us enough evidence to calculate Susan’s personal wealth today.

The safest answer is simple: Susan Dee Robbins’ exact net worth is not publicly known.

Why Are People Still Searching for Susan Dee Robbins?

The answer begins with Dale Robertson.

Classic Western television continues to attract viewers.

People still discover shows such as Tales of Wells Fargo, where Dale played Jim Hardie from 1957 to 1962.

Once viewers become interested in an old Hollywood star, they often start exploring the person’s private life.

Who did he marry?

Did he have children?

What happened after he retired?

Who stayed beside him during his final years?

Those questions lead directly to Susan.

Her story becomes especially interesting because she represents the quieter side of Dale’s life.

Interesting Facts About Susan Dee Robbins

She was Dale Robertson’s final wife.
They married in 1980 and remained together until his death in 2013.

Their marriage lasted about 33 years.
This is confirmed by Dale’s major obituary coverage.

She is widely reported to have worked as a flight attendant.
Several biographies say this is how she met Dale.

She lived a much quieter life than her famous husband.
Susan never developed the kind of constant public profile Dale had.

She became an author after Dale’s death.
Her book Bucking Hollywood was released in 2019.

The book is nearly 400 pages long.
Google Books lists it at 396 pages.

She wrote the book to help preserve Dale’s legacy.
This purpose is explained in the publisher’s description of the biography.

Final Thoughts

Susan Dee Robbins lived beside a man who spent much of his career in front of millions of viewers, yet she chose a very different kind of life.

Her marriage to Dale Robertson lasted roughly 33 years, from 1980 until his death in 2013.

Instead of trying to turn that marriage into her own Hollywood career, Susan largely remained private.

Then, years after Dale died, she did something meaningful.

She wrote his story.

Through Bucking Hollywood, Susan Robertson helped preserve memories of the actor she knew not simply as a Western television star, but as her husband.

Many details about Susan’s childhood, exact age, finances, and present-day activities remain private or poorly documented.

And perhaps that is fitting.

Her life reminds us that being connected to fame does not mean a person has to live publicly.

FAQs About Susan Dee Robbins

Who is Susan Dee Robbins?

Susan Dee Robbins is best known as the final wife of American Western actor Dale Robertson. She later published a biography about him called Bucking Hollywood.

Who was Susan Dee Robbins married to?

She was married to Dale Robertson, the actor known for Western television programs including Tales of Wells Fargo.

When did Susan Dee Robbins marry Dale Robertson?

Susan and Dale married on February 2, 1980.

How long were Susan Dee Robbins and Dale Robertson married?

They were married for approximately 33 years, remaining together until Dale’s death in 2013.

Was Susan Dee Robbins a flight attendant?

She is widely reported to have worked as a flight attendant before marrying Dale Robertson, although detailed employment records are not publicly available.

Did Susan Dee Robbins have children with Dale Robertson?

There are no publicly documented children born to Susan and Dale together. Dale had children from earlier relationships.

Is Susan Dee Robbins an actress?

There is no reliable evidence of a professional acting career. Her strongest public connection to Hollywood comes through her marriage to Dale Robertson.

Did Susan Dee Robbins write a book?

Yes. Under the name Susan Robertson, she wrote Bucking Hollywood, a biography of Dale Robertson published in 2019.

What is Susan Dee Robbins’ net worth?

Her exact net worth has not been reliably verified. Specific figures published by celebrity websites should therefore be treated as estimates rather than confirmed facts.

Where is Susan Dee Robbins now?

Susan’s 2019 author biography said she was living in San Diego to be closer to family, but her exact present-day residence and daily life are private.

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