Suellyn Lyon was born in Davenport, Iowa, the youngest of five siblings born to Sue Lyon (née Karr) and James Lyon. Sue Karr Lyon was 42 years old when she was widowed, at the tender age of just 10 months old, leaving Suellyn's mother to work in a hospital to provide for her children, struggling to make ends meet. The family subsequently relocated to Los Angeles in the hopes that Suellyn could contribute financially as a model.
As a model, she landed jobs with JC Penney and appeared in a commercial featuring her bleached blonde hair, which garnered attention and eventually led to small parts in television shows such as Dennis the Menace and The Loretta Young Show. Her breakthrough role came when director Stanley Kubrick, impressed by her performance on The Loretta Young Show, suggested she audition for the iconic role of Lolita in his 1962 film.
Suellyn's early success in modeling and acting led to her signing with the Glenn Shaw agency and working with agent Pat Holmes, who brought her to Kubrick for an audition, ultimately securing the role of Lolita. Her early marriage to Hampton Fancher III in 1964 was short-lived, ending in divorce, as were her subsequent four marriages.
Throughout her career, Suellyn appeared in a range of films, including 7 Women, The Flim-Flam Man, Tony Rome, Evel Knievel, Game of Murder, Murder in a Blue World, Smash-Up on Interstate 5, The Astral Factor, Towing, Crash!, and Alligator. Her personal life, however, was marked by controversy, particularly her marriage to African-American photographer and football coach Roland Harrison, which sparked public outcry and led the couple to relocate to Europe.
Despite her efforts to reform the prison system and advocate for conjugal rights, her marriage to Harrison ultimately ended in divorce. Suellyn continued to work in film and television, appearing in a range of projects, but her personal life remained tumultuous, marked by multiple marriages and divorces.
Suellyn's final marriage to Edward Weathers in 1983 ended a year later, and her subsequent marriage to radio engineer Richard Rudman also ended in divorce. Suellyn Lyon passed away in 2019 at the age of 73, leaving behind her only child, a daughter named Nona Harrison, born during her marriage to Roland Harrison.
