Suzanne Somers is no "dumb blonde," although she played one on TV. Forever linked with Chrissy Snow, the ditzy character she portrayed in 88 episodes of the sitcom Three's Company, Suzanne has outlived Chrissy by decades. The comedy faded from the small screen in 1984; and for the resilient Somers. that was several careers ago.

More of a "personality" than an actress these days, she Is a marketing marvel with 16 best-selling books to her credit and a website that offers hundreds of signature products that range from racy clothes to slow cookers. She's a survivor who has lived to tell — and write — about what it was like to grow up in an alcoholic family, lose her job on Three's Company, mount a comeback in Las Vegas, battle breast cancer, and fend off the demons she has dubbed the "Seven Dwarfs of Menopause: Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Forgetful, and All-Dried-Up." This year's setback, a fire that claimed her Malibu home and all of its contents, sparked her quick assurance that she would rebuild, of course.

Her widespread appeal is rooted in her unique blend of vulnerability and determination. She's soft but tough: she's the girl next door who happens to be a Hollywood celebrity. Her book titles may sound like pie-in-the-sky promises — Slim and Sexy Forever, Eat Great. Lose Weight and Ageless — but skeptics need only to look at the author for validation. As CNN's Larry King has said, "She's living proof that 60 is the new 30."

The Post recently spent an hour with Somers talking about her passion to help people live long and look great. She takes her health seriously and jokes that she has every intention of living at least to age 100.

Post: Would you describe yourself as a workaholic or just a woman with a mission?

Suzanne: I don't think I'm a workaholic anymore. I used to take some kind of personal pride in outworking everybody. Now, at this point in my life, I feel very balanced. I've raised my children, I'm a grandmother, and that means I can spoil the grandkids… and then send them home. Now I can think about what interests me. All the books that I've written have resulted from whatever I was going through at the time — usually problems. After I figure out the solution to a problem and have an "Ah-ha!" moment. I start writing.

Post: Wasn't it your book of poetry that landed you on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson?

Suzanne: [laughs] I don't think it was great poetry, but the book had a provocative title. Touch Me, and I was young and kind of juicy looking. Johnny Carson took a liking to me and invited me to come on his show every month and read a poem. While I read, an isolated camera focused on Johnny, who would make some of his famous faces. After too many appearances to count, I was on my way as a little-known celebrity. That's how I got on Three's Company. Before that, I was planning on being a chef.

Post: For a 60-year-old grandmother, you're still pretty "juicy looking." Why do you think millions of middle-aged women identify with you?

Suzanne: I give them hope. At a really low point in my career, my husband dragged me down to Florida to go on the Home Shopping Network. I remember asking him, "Is this going to ruin my career?" He's painfully honest and said. "Well. Suzanne, at the moment you don't have a career." I went on the show and had endless hours to talk unscripted to all these nameless women out there. Pretty soon they started calling in, and I realized that I was doing a sort of interactive talk show. It was like a giant Tupperware party. Over time the calls became more and more personal. I started writing the weight-loss books, and women began losing weight like crazy. Then I lost my hormones, and I wrote about that and, lo and behold, the women also were having hormone problems. I think they sense that I'm one of them, and when I figure out something, I share it with them. I have an absolute sense of responsibility to my audience. I never lead them astray or take them down a path I haven't taken or am taking right now. They trust me. so it's been a very bonding experience.

Post: This bonding experience extends beyond television, right?

Suzanne: Yes. Once I said on the air, "You know, we should all get together sometime and have some kind of convention." The response was crazy! The calls came flooding in and shut down the switchboards. We thought a cruise would be fun, so we commissioned one of the Carnival cruise ships. I remember that we were a little nervous because we had to put down a $1 million nonrefundable deposit. The booking agent said that it usually takes up to 18 months to fill a ship. We put the tickets up for sale and sold out in 24 hours. It was great.

Post: In your most recent books, The Sexy Years and Ageless, you build a case for bioidentical hormones and suggest that readers might want to look into them. Does this mean you oppose traditional therapies?

Suzanne: I am not antipharmaceutical. I think for pain, infection and mental illness, the pharmaceuticals are the best thing that ever happened to human beings. But for other conditions. I practice nondrug restorative medicine. I'm one of those people who have decided to seek out the kind of doctors who really understand how to put the body back in balance. I'm ten years into this and can say that my weight is no longer an issue, libido is delicious, and I have tremendous energy. It's been life-changing for me.

Post: People today look for quick fixes, and yet you outline a very disciplined lifestyle. Does good health have to be a lot of hard work? For example, how can a busy person squeeze exercise into a daily regimen?

Suzanne: I don't think we have to spend three hours at the gym every day, but our bodies become atrophied if we don't exercise them. If you bought a new car and kept it in the garage and never drove it, when you finally turned on the ignition it would probably sputter and chug. Things need to move. Our bodies need to move. I'm really high on yoga, but I also believe in using a few impact weights to keep the bones strong and to get some definition. I'm not suggesting frenetic exercise, just the common-sense kind. On the days I don't do yoga, I try to walk for 40 minutes.

Post: Why are you "high" on yoga?

Suzanne: Yoga is great for my age group because it's so calming, strengthening and relaxing. I had a cat for 27 years — I called her Chrissy Snow after my role on Three's Company. I used to watch her every morning. She would lie in the sun and stretch and stretch. When I started yoga, the first thing my teacher did was stretch and breathe, stretch and breathe. I thought. Wow. what a great way to keep limber and oxygenated. I look forward to my yoga and try to do it three or four times a week, an hour each session.

Post: In your diet books you talk about eating real food rather than diet food. Now we hear you're getting into organic gardening. True?

Suzanne; True. We start planting this week, and I've got enough space to grow everything that will thrive in the desert — melons, squash, lettuce, tomatoes, garlic, scallions, kale, broccoli…you name it. The idea of going down and picking my own dinner thrills me beyond words. We're doing everything we can to keep the garden as pure as possible. We've put in a purified water system, have organic soil, and we're even peppering the area with lady bugs that will kill the aphids. That way, we won't have to spray for bugs. My plan is to grow enough food to feed my neighbors.

Post: And speaking of food, you've recently opened something called Suzanne's Kitchen, which is not a typical restaurant with a celebrity's name attached to it. Tell us about it.

Suzanne: It's a food-prep business and it eliminates having to go to the grocery store. Young people, especially working moms, really like the concept. We do the shopping for them; we wash the food, chop the ingredients, and prepare everything. Customers choose what they want, take it : home, and cook it in their own kitchens. It's a way of getting the family back around the dinner table eating food that's good for them.

Post: For people who shop for food the old-fashioned way, what's your advice on making smart choices?

Suzanne: To be proactive about your health, you need to eat the highest quality real food that you can afford. All supermarkets are laid out the same, so I tell my readers to shop the periphery of the store. On the left-hand side are meats and fish; on the back side is the dairy department; and on the right-hand side are fruits and vegetables. I suggest that shoppers go only to the center of the store to buy their garbage bags, plastic wraps and things like that. A lot of food items in the center — especially those that come in a bag or a box — have preservatives and chemicals in them.

Post: You've been very public about your battle with breast cancer. Now, as a six-year survivor, you are the picture of health. What did you learn from that frightening experience?

Suzanne: Cancer isn't something that you ask for, but in an odd way, it was a gift because it taught me two lessons. First, if I ever wondered whether or not I am loved, cancer sure gave me the answer. People let me know how deeply they care for me. Second, it taught me the beauty of good health. understand now what a gift good health is, but I also know that it takes some work to maintain it in today's polluted environment. I never thought I could look and feel this good at 60. I realize that what you put into your life and health is what you get out. If you're willing to put in the effort, you can enjoy a better second half of life than your first.