Susan Deixler is an American woman from Brooklyn, New York. Her story became connected with music history after she married Barry Manilow in 1964, years before he became a famous singer. She is best known as Barry Manilow’s first wife and high school sweetheart.
Beyond that relationship, Susan had her own interests in student leadership, music, sports, healthcare, motherhood, and family life. This biography covers Susan Deixler’s early life, education, relationship with Barry Manilow, wedding, short marriage, career, children, and later years. It also looks at her decision to live privately.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Susan Deixler |
| Known For | Barry Manilow’s first wife |
| Birthplace | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Parents | Al Deixler and Nettie Deixler |
| High School | Eastern District High School |
| School Activities | Student government, chorus, swimming, bowling, Chemistry Squad |
| Early Career Goal | Planned to study nursing |
| Former Husband | Barry Manilow |
| Marriage Year | 1964 |
| Marriage Length | About 18 months |
| Children | Two, one son and one daughter |
| Later Work | Holistic healing and health-related work |
| Residence | Point Reyes Station, California |
| Lifestyle | Largely private |
Early Life and Background
Susan Deixler grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in a family led by her parents, Al Deixler and Nettie Deixler. She spent her younger years in the city and later attended Eastern District High School. Her school years became an important part of her early story because she was social, energetic, and involved in many activities.
She participated in student government, chorus, swimming, bowling, and the Chemistry Squad. Susan also showed an early interest in healthcare and planned to study nursing. These years shaped her interests before her relationship with Barry Manilow brought wider attention to her name.
An Active High School Student
At Eastern District High School, Susan built an active student life that involved leadership, academics, music, sports, and several organizations, making her much more than simply the girlfriend of a future celebrity. She served as student government president, sang in the chorus, joined the Chemistry Squad and Bowling Club, enjoyed swimming, and participated in the Orientation Committee and City and Boro Council.
These activities present Susan as an outgoing and involved teenager who enjoyed connecting with people, while memories describing her as friendly and bubbly also fit the broader image of a popular student with confidence and varied interests.
Her Early Interest in Nursing and Music
Susan was already considering her professional future during her final school years, and her plans included attending Miami University and studying nursing, showing an early interest in health and helping other people. Music was another part of her younger life because she had taken piano lessons, giving her some personal understanding of the musical interests that were becoming increasingly important to Barry Manilow.
Her later association with health and holistic healing makes her teenage career ambitions particularly interesting, because caring for others appears as a recurring theme connecting the plans of her youth with the quieter professional direction associated with her adult years.
Meeting Barry Manilow
Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow met while attending Eastern District High School in Brooklyn, years before songs such as “Mandy” and “Could It Be Magic” transformed him into a famous recording artist. Susan was reportedly a junior when their relationship began, and their personalities offered an interesting contrast because she was socially active and involved in numerous activities while Barry was considered quieter and more reserved.
Their connection nevertheless developed into a serious teenage romance, with music providing an interest they could share, and Susan supported Barry’s musical ambitions as their young relationship gradually moved from high school dating toward thoughts of marriage.
Their Young Love Story
The relationship between Susan and Barry developed during a stage of life when both were still discovering their ambitions, identities, and plans, yet their feelings became serious enough for marriage to appear possible. Susan had her educational and nursing interests, while Barry was becoming increasingly focused on music and the creative career that would later dominate his professional life and bring him worldwide recognition.
Despite being very young and facing different expectations from their families, they decided to build a life together, leading to their marriage in 1964 and beginning one of the most discussed personal chapters from Barry Manilow’s years before fame.
Susan Deixler’s Marriage to Barry Manilow
Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow married in 1964 when they were both very young. After their families disagreed about wedding plans, the couple eloped and had a simple civil ceremony at City Hall during a lunch break. Susan’s parents later wanted a religious ceremony, so the couple also exchanged vows in a rabbi’s office.
Their families eventually arranged separate wedding celebrations, leading to several ceremonies surrounding the same marriage. Despite this unusual beginning, their relationship did not last long. Susan and Barry separated after about 18 months, and Susan later sought an annulment.
Why They Had More Than One Ceremony
The City Hall marriage did not completely settle matters because Susan’s parents wanted a religious ceremony before accepting that the newly married couple should begin living together as husband and wife. Susan and Barry consequently participated in another ceremony in a rabbi’s office with both sets of parents present, while separate family celebrations added further complexity to an already unusual wedding experience.
Susan’s family later arranged a large reception with very limited attendance from Barry’s relatives, while Barry’s side organized another celebration and another rabbi-led ceremony, meaning their marriage was marked by several wedding events created largely by differing family expectations.
Why Their Marriage Ended
Despite the serious commitment and multiple wedding events surrounding their marriage, Susan and Barry did not remain together for long, and their relationship as husband and wife ended after approximately 18 months. Susan later sought an annulment, with fraud given as part of the legal action, bringing their youthful marriage to a close before Barry achieved the level of musical fame that would eventually define his public identity.
Barry later described himself as extremely young during this period and spoke about not being ready for married life, while his growing dedication to music was already pushing his future toward an increasingly demanding professional direction.
Susan Deixler’s Life After Divorce
Following the end of her relationship with Barry Manilow, Susan did not build a public identity around being the former wife of a future celebrity and instead moved forward with a much quieter lifestyle. Her later years became connected with family, personal work, health, and wellness rather than entertainment events, celebrity interviews, or efforts to remain visible because of her former husband’s growing fame.
This choice became one of the defining parts of Susan’s story, because Barry eventually achieved enormous public recognition while she followed a completely different path and maintained distance from the attention that naturally surrounded his successful music career.
Career in Health and Holistic Healing
Health remained an important theme in Susan Deixler’s life, connecting her teenage plan to study nursing with her later work in wellness and holistic healing, where attention is commonly given to a person’s wider well-being. Her career has been described through nursing and holistic healing, while another part of her employment history includes secretarial work before her move toward health-related activities.
This professional direction gave Susan an identity far removed from entertainment, allowing her working life to center on caring and wellness rather than celebrity, performance, publicity, or the music industry that became such an important part of Barry Manilow’s adult life.
Motherhood and Family Life
Susan Deixler later became a mother of two children, one son and one daughter, and family life became another important part of the adult journey she created after her marriage to Barry Manilow ended. She kept her children away from the attention connected with her former husband, and their names, personal experiences, and everyday lives have consequently remained outside the main public story surrounding Susan.
This approach reflects the broader pattern of her later years, because rather than turning a brief connection with a future music star into lasting celebrity status, she concentrated on motherhood, work, personal relationships, and ordinary private life.
Her Life in California
Susan was later associated with Point Reyes Station, California, a small community that offered a noticeably different environment from both her Brooklyn upbringing and the entertainment world surrounding Barry Manilow’s successful musical career. Her life there fits the private image she maintained throughout adulthood, as she rarely appeared at major public events, participated in celebrity publicity, or built a media presence around her connection with her former husband.
Instead, her later years became associated with family, health-related work, and personal privacy, showing how completely Susan’s path separated from the highly visible entertainment career that made her former teenage sweetheart internationally famous.
Susan Deixler’s Comments About Barry Manilow
Susan Deixler rarely spoke publicly about Barry Manilow after their marriage ended. However, when Barry’s marriage to his longtime manager Garry Kief became widely known, Susan shared a respectful response and wished him happiness. She did not criticize Barry or discuss private details about their past relationship.
Instead, she called their marriage “ancient history,” showing that she had moved on from that chapter of her life. Her brief comments also reflected her preference for privacy and her decision not to use her former husband’s fame to attract public attention.
Susan Deixler’s Life Today
Susan Deixler has spent most of her later years away from public attention and has been associated with Point Reyes Station, California. Unlike many people connected to celebrities, she has not built a public career around her past marriage to Barry Manilow. Susan rarely gives interviews, makes public appearances, or shares details about her personal life.
Instead, she has focused on family, personal interests, and a quiet lifestyle. Even though people continue searching for her because of her connection with Barry, Susan has preferred privacy and has largely stayed outside the entertainment spotlight.
Final Thoughts
Susan Deixler’s biography is connected with Barry Manilow, yet her story also presents a Brooklyn student who enjoyed leadership, music, sports, social activities, and an early ambition to enter the field of nursing. Her youthful romance led to an unusual 1964 marriage involving several ceremonies, but the relationship ended after about 18 months, allowing both individuals to move toward completely different adult lives.
Barry pursued international music success, while Susan became a mother, developed links with health and holistic healing, lived quietly in California, and demonstrated through decades of privacy that her former marriage would not define every chapter of her life.
FAQs
Who is Susan Deixler?
Susan Deixler is an American woman best known as Barry Manilow’s first wife and high school sweetheart. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and later lived a private life focused on family and health-related work.
When did Susan Deixler marry Barry Manilow?
Susan Deixler married Barry Manilow in 1964 when they were both very young. They first had a civil ceremony at City Hall and later participated in religious ceremonies because of their families’ different wedding expectations.
How long were Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow married?
Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow were married for about 18 months. Their relationship began when they were young students, but the marriage eventually ended, and Susan later sought an annulment before Barry achieved major musical fame.
Does Susan Deixler have children?
Yes, Susan Deixler later became a mother of two children, including one son and one daughter. She kept her family life private, so her children have remained largely outside public and media attention.
Where is Susan Deixler now?
Susan Deixler has lived a quiet life away from celebrity attention and has been associated with Point Reyes Station, California. She rarely makes public appearances or discusses her personal life and past relationship with Barry Manilow.
