But Wait there's More! Suzanne's Next Chapter

New Zealand’s Queen of Infomercials Has Had a Name Change.
 

- Sebastian van der Zwan

As the Weekly pokes around Suzanne Paul’s roomy, light-filled new home on Auckland’s North Shore, we’re flooded with nostalgia.

Her dressing room is decorated with the infomercial queen’s old Weekly covers, while the mirrorball trophy she won on Dancing with the Stars in 2007 takes pride of place in the kitchen.

But it’s a loose piece of paper beneath it that’s the reason we’re here to chat – a certificate declaring that Suzanne Paul has officially changed her name to... Suzanne Paul.

You see, until now, that’s never been her name. The beloved star was born Susan Barnes in Wolverhampton back in 1956 and “Suzanne Paul” was simply a name invented to promote her Natural Glow make-up in the ‘90s.

The public and media latched on to it, but it’s only now, 26 years later, that Suzanne has decided it’s time she officially embraced it too.

“I’ve got to the age where it’s all about me now,” she explains. “For the first time in my life, I’ve really only got myself to think about. Before I had my mum, my husbands, and various dogs and cats, but now it’s all about what makes me happy.”

And one of those things is leaving behind the confusion that comes from never knowing which name she’s booked in under for flights and hotels.

Suzanne (61) laughs, “Everyone at the check-in counter recognises me as Suzanne Paul, but my passport says Wilson, so I’m always being told I’m not booked in or that they would’ve given me an upgrade if they’d known it was me. I’m missing out!