Why Did Susan Saint James Stop Acting? Emmy Winner Put Motherhood Before Hollywood as Cause of Death Is Revealed

Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress known for McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie, died aged 80 on 26 October 2026. Her cause of death was metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to her death certificate, but her decision to leave acting came decades earlier. After Kate & Allie ended in 1989, she put family life ahead of Hollywood.

Cause of Death Revealed

People reported on 5 November that Saint James's death certificate listed metastatic pancreatic cancer as the cause of death. The document stated that the disease had been present for months. Her representative had previously confirmed her pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

The revelation has renewed attention on the actress's life and career. However, her illness should not be confused with her decision to leave regular television work, which she made in 1989.

Why Susan Saint James Stopped Acting

After Kate & Allie ended in 1989, Saint James stepped away from regular acting. Her husband, Dick Ebersol, had taken an executive role at NBC Sports, and the family made their home in Litchfield, Connecticut, to raise their younger children.

In a 1993 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Saint James said her children needed to be 'the stars of our family'. She did not want them pushed aside whenever their famous mother entered a room, saying she wanted them to have their own place and attention within the family. Rather than pursue another long-running television role, she could devote more time to the children's lives at home and give them space to grow outside her celebrity.

She also said she had a 'much more pleasant life' after her star faded. Her comments explained why motherhood mattered more than maintaining her Hollywood profile. Saint James had five children, two from her marriage to makeup artist Tom Lucas and three with Ebersol.

The Emmy-Winning Career She Left Behind

Saint James began acting in the 1960s, appearing in the television film Fame Is the Name of the Game in 1966 before playing Peggy Maxwell in the series The Name of the Game. Her performance earned her an Emmy in 1969.

She starred opposite Rock Hudson in McMillan & Wife from 1971 to 1976, receiving three Emmy nominations. She then played Kate McArdle alongside Jane Curtin in Kate & Allie, which ran from 1984 to 1989 and brought her two more nominations. She left McMillan & Wife before its final season following a contract dispute.

Life Beyond Hollywood

Stepping back from regular acting did not mean Saint James never performed again. She made occasional appearances in The Drew Carey Show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Suits, appeared in a Connecticut stage production of The Miracle Worker in 1995 and later featured in Upload.

Away from television, she and Ebersol helped launch Litchfield local radio station WZBG in 1992. Saint James hosted an afternoon programme as Betty Aster. In 1998, she, her sister Mercedes Dewey and a friend founded Seedling and Pip, a baby-gift business centred on books.

She also supported the Special Olympics, volunteering, serving on its board and helping raise funds through a poker tournament and advocacy. Her commitments reflected a life involving family, community and charitable work after she stepped away from Hollywood.

In a statement to People, her family remembered her as someone who 'never met a stranger'.