susanne gregard now : The Model Who Walked Away from the Spotlight and Built a Beautiful Life
There is something quietly remarkable about a woman who once graced the pages of Vogue, briefly captured the heart of one of the world’s most famous men, and then chose — with great intention — to simply disappear from the noise of celebrity life. Susanne Gregard is not a household name today, and that is precisely how she prefers it. Yet her story is far more layered and fascinating than the tabloid shorthand of “Dodi Fayed’s first wife” would suggest. She is a California-born model, actress, and media artist whose life has moved through several remarkable chapters: from the glossy glamour of 1980s fashion runways, to a whirlwind marriage in a New Year’s Eve ceremony, to a deeply private but artistically rich second act in Los Angeles. In 2026, she continues to create, to love, and to inspire — not through viral moments or red-carpet appearances, but through the quiet beauty of flowers submerged in water and a life lived entirely on her own terms.
Early Life: A California Girl With European Roots
Susanne Gregard was born on April 1, 1960, in Long Beach, California — a sun-drenched coastal city known for its maritime energy and creative spirit. She grew up in a stable, close-knit household shaped by two very different yet complementary personalities. Her father, Palle Gregard, was a Danish-born man who had immigrated to Los Angeles and found work with Scandinavian Airlines. He was a man of the world in the truest sense — a former road crew member for music bands, an avid Boy Scout, and someone who always carried a camera around his neck to document life wherever it took him. That detail, so seemingly small, would prove quietly prophetic when you consider what his daughter would one day do with a camera of her own. Her mother, Lise Gregard, was a homemaker who grounded the family with warmth and consistency. Together, Palle and Lise created a home that balanced exploration with stability — a combination that clearly left its mark on Susanne’s character.
She grew up alongside one sibling, a brother named Ken, and by all accounts had a fairly ordinary but happy California childhood. From a young age, she was drawn to beauty, nature, and visual art. She had the eye — something that can’t quite be taught — and a calm, observational personality that felt at home in creative spaces. The coastline, the changing light, the colors of the Pacific — these were her first teachers. By the time she was a teenager, it was clear to those around her that Susanne had something distinctive: a quiet elegance, a natural ease in front of any lens, and a curiosity about the world that would take her far from Long Beach.
The Modeling Years: Fashion’s Glossy Pages and a Rising Star
Susanne Gregard stepped into the modeling world in the early 1980s, and the timing could not have been more favorable. The fashion industry was booming, magazines were cultural touchstones, and a fresh face with a natural, understated American beauty could rise quickly. She quickly started getting modeling work, and her natural look and calm personality helped her stand out. Before long, she was appearing in some of the most prestigious fashion publications in the world.
She worked enough to appear in well-known magazines, including titles like Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vogue — fitting right into the popular look of the era. Being featured in those three titles simultaneously is not a small thing. Those were the pinnacle of the fashion world, and Susanne’s presence in their pages was a genuine marker of success. Modeling opened doors not just to more runway and print work, but to the entertainment industry as well — and to a whole social world that connected aspiring creatives with producers, directors, and very wealthy businesspeople.
She made her television debut on Star Search in 1983 and 1984, appearing as a spokesmodel on the American TV talent show — one that also helped launch other models and performers of the era. And in 1985, she took a step further into acting, landing a role in the romantic comedy film Key Exchange, where she played a character credited as “Gym Honey.” These roles were brief, but they showed that Susanne was more than just “someone’s wife” long before she met Dodi Fayed. She was building a real career, navigating a competitive and often fickle industry with quiet determination. The modeling world of the 1980s could be glamorous and exhausting in equal measure, and the fact that she landed spreads in the most influential magazines of the decade while also dipping into television and film speaks to both her versatility and her professionalism.
The Dodi Fayed Chapter: Love, Luxury, and a Brief Marriage
The story of Susanne Gregard and Dodi Fayed began in 1985. At the time, Susanne was 26 years old and Dodi was 31. Their meeting quickly turned into a romantic relationship. Dodi Al-Fayed was, by any measure, an extraordinary figure to encounter. He was the son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, had helped finance Chariots of Fire, and moved fluidly between Hollywood, London, and the French Riviera. He was charming, generous to a fault, and, when he met Susanne, apparently completely smitten.
He tried very hard to impress her. According to several reports, Dodi would fly Susanne to London on the Concorde jet during weekends. He reportedly arranged for her to model at Harrods — the iconic London department store owned by his father — essentially creating professional reasons for her to be near him. The courtship was extravagant and romantic in a way that belonged to a different era entirely. He courted her with weekend trips to London from New York by Concorde. It was a love story written in first-class suites and champagne, and for a time, it felt very real.
The couple married on December 31, 1986, with Susanne’s parents’ blessing. Their New Year’s Eve wedding was a small, private affair — fitting for a relationship that had always been more intimate than public. But the marriage, despite the grand romance of its beginning, was not built to last. After marriage, the initial intensity of Dodi’s love faded after only a couple of months, as he struggled to find the stability he wanted. Their lifestyles, personalities, and visions for the future were simply too different. Their marriage collapsed after eight months due to irreconcilable differences, and Susanne filed for divorce in August 1987.
The end of that marriage could have been defining in a damaging way — she could have become permanently attached to a footnote in someone else’s story. But Susanne Gregard is not that kind of woman. She stepped back from the spotlight, processed what had happened privately, and began to rebuild. When Dodi Al-Fayed died in the Paris car crash alongside Princess Diana in August 1997, the world turned its attention briefly back to those who had known him most intimately. Susanne was largely silent. She had no comment, no memoir, no tell-all. The discretion she showed then, and has shown ever since, says everything about her character.
Finding True Love: Life With Philippe Quilici
The most enduring love story of Susanne Gregard’s life is not the one that made headlines. After separating from Dodi, she married one of Hollywood’s top heart surgeons, Dr. Philippe Quilici, on May 2nd, 1992. Philippe is a French-born physician who studied at the Université de la Méditerranée (Aix-Marseille II) and currently works at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. He is, by all accounts, the kind of grounded, accomplished, deeply decent person who provides the stability that Susanne’s first marriage lacked.
Together, they share two children, and their life in Los Angeles is a far cry from the paparazzi-filled days of her past. Their sons — Maximilian (known as Max) and Henry — have grown up to be creative, accomplished young men in their own right. Maximilian P. Quilici, born September 25, 1993, attended Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles and pursued music at USC. He is a jazz guitarist who has toured Europe with his band and joined tours with notable artists. Henry Quilici, born on August 27, 1996, studied film and television production at the University of Southern California. Both sons clearly inherited their mother’s artistic sensibility — one through music, one through the visual storytelling of film. The family lives together in Los Angeles, in what has been described as a French-style home in the hills above the city, where the light is good and the creative energy is palpable.
This chapter of Susanne’s life — wife, mother, artist, and homemaker — is the longest-running and arguably the most meaningful. More than thirty years of marriage to Philippe speaks not just to compatibility but to deep mutual respect, shared values, and genuine partnership. It is the kind of love story that rarely makes magazine covers but outlasts almost everything else.
The Artist Within: Aqua Flora and a Creative Rebirth
Perhaps the most surprising and genuinely moving aspect of Susanne Gregard’s story today is what she has made of herself as an artist. Long after the modeling contracts dried up and long after the Dodi Fayed association faded from public conversation, she quietly built a creative practice that is entirely her own.
On her website, she describes herself as a mixed media artist and photographer living and working in Los Angeles, with a passion for floral beauty and the natural world. She enjoys capturing the color, form, and beauty of flowers in all stages of evolution — from freshly picked to when they are wilting, brown, and dying. There is something deeply philosophical in that last detail. Most people photograph flowers at peak bloom, when they are most conventionally beautiful. Susanne photographs the entire arc — including the decay. It suggests an artist who is genuinely interested in truth over prettiness, in the full spectrum of existence rather than just the highlight reel.
She purchased an underwater housing for her camera and began experimenting with flowers submerged in water, immediately captivated by how it appealed to her on an emotional level. The moving blue water enhances the flowers’ vibrant colors, creating lines, shapes, and wonderful abstract compositions. This body of work, which she calls the Aqua Flora series, has attracted a devoted following on social media and on her personal website. The photographs in the Aqua Flora series are right out of camera with no processing other than minimal retouching if needed — shot with a renewed vision and playful engagement.
The work is genuinely beautiful. It is also unmistakably personal — a woman who spent her early career being photographed finally turning the lens around and using it to explore what she finds most moving about the natural world. Flowers, water, light, and the quiet passage of time. It is artistry that has nothing to do with celebrity and everything to do with seeing.
Social Media, Net Worth, and Public Presence
Susanne Gregard — who now goes by Susanne Quilici in her professional life — maintains a low-key but genuine presence on Instagram under the handle @susannequilici. She has approximately 500 followers, where she shares her photography, preferring a more private online presence and reflecting her desire to stay away from the media spotlight. Her posts are a mix of her Aqua Flora art, occasional family moments, and the kind of beautiful, considered imagery you would expect from someone who thinks carefully about what she shares with the world. She is not chasing followers or algorithms. She is sharing her art with the people who genuinely want to see it.
Her net worth is estimated between $2 million and $5 million, with sources noting that a divorce settlement from her brief marriage to Dodi Fayed included luxurious assets such as jewelry, high-end real estate, and a luxury vehicle. That financial foundation, combined with decades of professional work and her current life with a successful cardiac surgeon husband, has allowed her to pursue her art without commercial pressure — which likely explains why her Aqua Flora series feels so free, so genuine, and so unconcerned with market trends.
Her personal website, susannequilici.art, serves as a portfolio and artist statement rolled into one. It reflects exactly who she is now: a creative woman in her mid-sixties, deeply rooted in beauty and nature, uninterested in celebrity, and fully committed to her craft.
Looking Forward: Legacy, Lessons, and a Life Well Lived
In 2026, Susanne Gregard lives a quiet life in Los Angeles, California. She works as a media artist and photographer, creating unique floral artwork in water — and she is focused on family life with her husband and children. There are no upcoming blockbuster film roles, no reality television contracts, no tell-all memoir deals on the horizon. And that is, by every indication, exactly as she would have it.
What makes Susanne Gregard’s story worth telling — and worth reading — is not the Dodi Fayed connection, which the world tends to reach for first. It is the fact that she had every opportunity to define herself permanently by that eight-month marriage and instead chose not to. She chose privacy over publicity. She chose genuine love over glamour. She chose art over attention. And she chose to photograph the dying flowers, not just the blooming ones — because she understands that the full beauty of life includes its endings.
She raised two talented sons who are building creative lives of their own. She has been married to the same man for over thirty years. She developed an entirely original artistic practice in her sixties that has nothing to do with anything she did before. These are not small things. They are, in fact, the essential things.
As Susanne Gregard continues to photograph flowers in still blue water in her Los Angeles studio, her story stands as a quiet but powerful reminder that the most meaningful lives are often the ones lived furthest from the spotlight. Resilience is not always dramatic. Sometimes it looks like waking up each morning, picking up a camera, and finding beauty in the world — wilting petals and all. That is the legacy Susanne Gregard is building, and it is one entirely, beautifully, her own.
