Susan Crow was Tony Bennett’s third wife. The duo got married in 2007 despite having a whopping four decades age gap between them.
Susan first crossed paths with Tony in the early 1980s when she attended one of the legendary musician’s concerts in New York. Following his performance, Susan who was then in her early 20s requested to see the musician backstage and she got a dinner date in return. That marked the beginning of a relationship that lasted for over three decades until Bennett’s demise in 2023. The couple didn’t have any children but Tony had four kids from his first and second marriages.
Summary of Susan Crow’s Biography
- Full Name: Susan Crow
- Gender: Female
- Date of Birth: 9th of September 1966
- Susan Crow’s Age: 57
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Virgo
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Widowed
- Susan Crow’s Husband: Tony Bennett (late)
- Susan Crow’s Parents: Dayl and Marion Crow
- Susan Crow’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 7 inches
- Susan Crow’s Height in Centimetres: 170 cm
- Susan Crow’s Weight: 69 kg
- Susan Crow’s Net Worth: $3 million
- Famous For: Being the wife of Tony Bennett
How Old Is Susan Crow?
Susan Crow is 57 years old as of 2024, as she was born on the 9th of September 1966. Though she was named Susan Crow at birth, Susan took on Benedetto as her last name following her marriage to Tony Bennett whose real name is Anthony Benedetto.
Susan was born in San Francisco, California, which points to her American nationality. However, her ethnic background is listed as White. She was born into the family of Marion and Dayl and from what is obvious, her parents have nothing to do with the limelight; thus, to date, Marion and Dayl’s career paths are not known. Again, it is not known whether Susan has any siblings or grew up as an only child.
Susan Crow’s Education and Academic Pursuit
Growing up in her place of birth, San Francisco, Susan Crow achieved her earliest academic pursuit there, though the names of her primary and high school are not known. When it was time for the American celebrity spouse to go for further studies, she relocated to New York during the mid-1980s where she enrolled at Fordham University.
Armed with a Bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, the San Francisco native proceeded to Columbia University’s Teachers College where she completed her Master’s degree.
What Does Tony Bennett’s Wife Do for a Living?
Susan Crow was working in paid employment before she became the wife of the music superstar, Tony Bennett. Susan was into business and also engaged in philanthropy alongside Bennett.
Crow worked as an Assistant Administrator
Upon her graduation from Columbia University’s Teachers College, Susan was employed by Merrill Lynch where she rendered her services as an administrative assistant for a while before deciding to make the transition to teaching.
She was a Teacher at the High School Level
Coming into the education field, Susan Crow scored her first teaching job as an academic staff of a New York-based public high school known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts. She spent memorable days at the academic institution teaching social studies. Reportedly, she taught for many years even after she met and started dating Tony Bennett.
Susan was into Business
Even before she moved into teaching, Susan had a small business running. The Manhattan-based Creative Artists Management firm is her brainchild. The company’s major focus is young artists who consult them for advice on how to better manage their growing careers.
The scope of work at the Creative Artists Management firm includes talent bookings, management, publicity, and any other related artist management issues.
She was the President of Tony Bennett’s Fan Club
As a teenager, Susan Crow was appointed the president of the group known as Tonymaniacs, or Tony Bennett’s fan club. It is important to note that Susan’s mum, Marion was the president of the San Francisco arm of Tonymaniacs before she was born and naturally, the Fordham University alum took over in her teens.
Marion is credited as one of the original ‘Tonymaniacs. During the early part of the 1950s, the group was formed as an army of teen bobbysoxers who fueled Bennett’s first taste of fame.”
Alongside her Musician Husband, Susan Crow Co-founded an Arts Nonprofit
After she became the third wife of the American music superstar, they started working together and one of their projects was the establishment of a nonprofit organization known as Exploring the Arts (ETA) in 1999.
ETA’s main focus was the transformation of young people’s lives through arts education. In a bid to help the younger generation in public schools get more acquainted with arts, ETA has partnered with over 50 schools in both Los Angeles and New York.
In recent times, Susan Crow has been functioning as the Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit and also keeps track of the family’s other philanthropic endeavors.
Tony and Susan co-founded a Public High School
An apt example of Tony Bennett and Susan Crow’s philanthropic endeavors is the New York City-based Frank Sinatra School of the Arts which they established in 1999. The public high school became fully operational a decade later in 2009 and is focused on up-and-coming artists; it teaches performing arts. It is located in the legendary musician’s hometown, Astoria in the Queens borough.
The name Frank Sinatra belonged to Tony’s late friend who was also a singer during his lifetime and he chose to name the school after him.
Susan and Tony’s numerous charitable courses have not gone unnoticed as the couple have received a lot of accolades and awards from the authorities.
The year 2010 was when they received the ASCAP Foundation Champion Award in respect of the extensive work they have done in the arts education sector.
Before the year ran out, the duo was honored with the George Washington University medal.
Talking to the Huffington Post, Crow revealed how lucky she is to have worked on several philanthropic projects with a man of Tony Bennett’s caliber. She described this privilege as a “dream come true”.
How Did Susan Crow and Tony Bennett Meet
Reportedly, Susan Crow and Tony Bennett first crossed paths during the latter part of the 1980s. Then, Susan who was in her late teens was already a raving fan of the pop and jazz superstar. She would often call into programs at radio stations just to request for his tracks.
According to Susan, she got her fascination for Tony’s music from her mother, Marion who was the first president of his fan club in San Francisco.
As fate would have it, Susan attended one of Tony’s concerts in the late 1980s and after his performance, she sent in a request to meet him backstage. At this point, Susan was in her early 20s while Tony was already in his 60s.
Talking about their first encounter, Bennett said it tickled his fancy to know that someone so young was devoted to his work. Thus, he agreed to meet Susan backstage and also extended a dinner invite which she accepted. This was how their enduring relationship started.
However, in his 2016 memoir entitled, Just Getting Started, Bennett revealed that he first met Susan decades ago. Though she was still in her mother’s womb. According to the music hitmaker, Marion and Dayl Crow attended one of his shows in New York City in 1966 where they posed for pictures with Tony.
It so happened that Susan was heavily pregnant with Susan in that photo and the incredible turn of events a couple of decades later became something to laugh about.
The Couple Dated for Over Two Decades Before Exchanging Wedding Vows
Following their first dinner date, the couple started a relationship that lasted for decades before going on to say “I do”.
Tony Bennett and Susan Crow eventually wedded on the 21st of June 2007 and their wedding ceremony was hosted in New York City. It was said to be an intimate affair witnessed by the duo’s family and close friends. They didn’t wed in the church as they preferred a civil ceremony.
The duo’s wedding sparked a lot of heated debate for several reasons. Many opined that there must have been a special reason for deciding to tie the knot after dating for twenty long years without issues. Besides, Tony was already an octogenarian by the time he wedded Susan who was barely in her 40s, making many think that there may be a good reason for taking that decision.
When quizzed about their reason for tying the knot at that point in their relationship, Susan Crow told People that there was none. “We just decided to do it,” Mrs. Benedetto said. “It was just one of those things,” she concluded. However, in actual sense, 2007 was the year Bennet finalized divorce from his second wife and that was exactly when he was free to take another wife.
Even though they had a small ceremony, Susan revealed that there was more than enough romance in the air and the best part of their day was “just being together”
It was after the ceremony that Susan appended Benedetto to her name. Following their nuptials, Bennett and his third wife lived together in his New York mansion which is said to be worth around $27.5 million. Though he was married twice before, Bennett found the greatest love of his life in Susan. According to the music hitmaker, she inspired several of his tracks including All for You. While he lived, Tony and his young wife graced several events and occasions together.
What is the Age Difference Between Susan Crow and Tony Bennett?
The existence of a whopping 40-year-age gap between Bennett and Crow raised many eyebrows. The American pop and Jazz musician was born on the 3rd of August 1926 and his third wife, Susan came into the world on the 9th of September 1966.
However, the four-decade-long age gap between the couple did not douse their love one bit. According to Tony, the fact they were generations apart was never a bother to them, especially after they discovered that they had a lot in common. Bennett also said that they enjoyed a kind of rare compatibility that bonded them together forever.
Talking further, the music hitmaker said he considers Crow a mature woman and she balances him out in all aspects. Before his demise, Tony gave Susan Crow credit for his long life and fulfillment in marriage.
Susan Crow was Not Tony Bennet’s First Wife
Far from being the first wife of Tony Bennett, Susan Crow was the singer’s wife number three. The “Cold Cold Heart” crooner was first married to Patricia Beech. The duo tied the knot in 1952 after they first met at one of the music legend’s concerts. Reportedly, their nuptials were the talk of the town during the early 1950s as thousands of the musician’s female fans wore all black and stood outside his reception venue. When quizzed, they said they were mourning the loss of one of the most eligible bachelors and female heartthrobs of all time.
The couple’s union lasted till 1965 when they went their separate ways but their divorce was finalized in 1971.
The Oscar actress, Sandra Grant was the 2nd wife of Tony Bennett. They met in 1965 and went on to co-habit for years before going on to tie the knot in 1971. Sandra and Bennett called it quits with their relationship in 1979 but their divorce was finalized in 2007.
How Many Children Did Susan and Bennett Have?
Susan does not share any children with her late husband, Tony Bennett even though they were together for over 36 years. Many fans of the music superstar believe that Tony was already done with giving birth by the time he met Susan as he was already a father of four.
His first two children, D’Andrea and D’Andrea, came from his first marriage to Beech and they are all boys. Their first child, D’Andrea was born a couple of years after their union in 1954 while, D’Andrea came a year later in 1955.
Tony’s marriage to Grant produced two children – all girls. Their first daughter, Joanna came in 1970 while the second one, Antonia was born in 1974.
She Became Tony Bennett’s Primary Caregiver After he was Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease
Tony Bennett was inching towards his 90s in 2016 when the legendary American musician was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and while he was sick, Susan Crow functioned as his primary caregiver.
Talking to AARP The Magazine in February 2021, Susan said Tony’s doctor advised her to let him keep singing as it was the best therapy for the music icon, thus he was allowed to perform till 2021.
On Bennett’s condition, Susan said he wasn’t sure of simple things like where he was and the goings on around him. However, Tony continued to recognize Susan till, the end and that was something she remained grateful for.
Despite his condition, Susan said Tony retained his sweet personality till he breathed his last. At 94, the music hitmaker could do what many people of sane mind could not do, Susan revealed.
Tony eventually died in July 2023 at the age of 96. His death occurred in New York and according to Susan, his last words were about the love he felt for her.