‘In my birthday suit!’ Suzanne Somers poses naked as she turns 73

Most people mark their birthdays with a party or by spending time with their loves ones, but American actress Suzanne Somers threw convention out the window this week as she celebrated her 73rd birthday with a totally nude snap.

The Three’s Company and Step by Step star, whose big day was on October 16, shared the risqué photograph on her official Instagram account, alongside the caption: “Here I am at 73 in my birthday suit!!!”

Somers appears to be completely naked in the photo as she crouches among plants and shrubbery in a field in Palm Springs, California. Sitting cross-legged, the US star retained her modesty by clasping her arms over her chest to cover her bare chest.

Fans were quick to praise Somers for the cheeky birthday post, with one writing: “Always Beautiful!! Looking Amazing Suzanne!! Happy Birthday.” Another said: “Redefining ageing! I don’t know what 73 is supposed to look like anymore, but you wear it well.”

While a third fan commented: “You go girl! Way to rock your 70’s. So inspirational!!” Another follower commented: ““Love this!!! Appreciate you being an example of the importance of loving our bodies and still feeling sexy at any age!”

Others joked about how comfortable her chosen perch might be, with one person saying: “I hope you are sitting on a satin pillow!”

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However the body confident author has since copped some backlash for the racy post, with others criticising her decision to share the nude image publicly. One person commented: “Wow I don’t want to see that put some clothes on Susie.” While another simply asked “why?”.

The image comes just one year after Somers opened up about her battle with breast cancer and revealed the incredible procedure she underwent that allowed her to regrow her breast without using any implants.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 but refused chemotherapy at the time – instead opting for a lumpectomy and radiation. She then went 11 years without one of her breasts, before undergoing a pioneering procedure to regrow it using stem cell regeneration.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly in October 2018, Somers revealed she was one of the first women in the United States to legally undergo cell-assisted lipotransfer. She chose the procedure after meeting a doctor at the University of Tokyo who was leading a clinical trial on regeneration using stem cells.

“They took fat from my stomach, spun out the stem cells, discarded the weak ones, took the strong ones, injected them into this breast with, like, a turkey baster, and for a year I felt, like, electrical zippers growing the blood vessels,” she explained to the news outlet.

“The first two weeks after I had it done, I was showing everybody,” she joked. “I’d whip it out – ‘cause I was so used to not having it… And then after two weeks, my husband [Alan Hamel] said to me, ‘You gotta stop showing people your breast’.”