Connell Cowan may not be a Hollywood star, but his name has attracted increasing interest because of his long relationship with veteran actress Susan Sullivan. Away from the entertainment spotlight, he has built an accomplished career of his own as a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, researcher, teacher, and relationship expert.
Best known for co-writing Smart Women/Foolish Choices, Cowan became a recognizable figure in popular psychology during the 1980s. His work has explored love, marriage, behavioral patterns, and the reasons people sometimes make choices that work against their own interests.
His personal life is equally interesting to many readers. Cowan and Sullivan have shared their lives for more than three decades while maintaining a relatively private relationship. Here is a closer look at his background, career, family, books, interests, and lasting connection with the Falcon Crest and Castle actress.
Quick Facts About Connell Cowan
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Connell Cowan |
| Profession | Clinical psychologist, author, researcher |
| Known For | Smart Women/Foolish Choices |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Partner | Susan Sullivan |
| Relationship Status | Longtime partnership |
| Children | Two adult children |
| Major Collaborator | Dr. Melvyn Kinder |
| Other Collaborator | Dr. David Kipper |
| Notable Books | Smart Women/Foolish Choices, Women Men Love/Women Men Leave, Husbands & Wives, Override |
| Organization Founded | Human Sciences Center |
| Field | Clinical psychology and human behavior |
Early Life and Background
Compared with his professional achievements, relatively little reliable information about Connell Cowan‘s early life has been made public. Details such as his exact birthplace, childhood experiences, parents, and date of birth do not appear prominently in his official professional biographies.
What is well established is that he pursued psychology at an advanced level and earned a PhD. He later developed a career combining clinical practice, research, writing, teaching, and public education.
His professional life eventually became centered in Los Angeles, where he has practiced as a clinical psychologist. His publisher also credits him with teaching at institutions including the California School of Professional Psychology and UCLA’s School of Public Health.
Rather than becoming famous through celebrity culture, Cowan first gained widespread attention by translating psychological ideas into books that ordinary readers could understand and apply to relationships.
His Age and Physical Features
The exact age of Connell Cowan is not clearly established in reliable public biographies. Major publisher profiles provide extensive information about his professional career but do not publish his birth date or current age.
For that reason, claims assigning him a specific age should be treated cautiously unless supported by a direct or authoritative record.
Information about his physical appearance is similarly limited. Unlike Susan Sullivan, whose acting career naturally placed her in front of cameras for decades, Cowan has maintained a much more private public profile.
There are photographs of him attending events with Sullivan, but verified details about his height, weight, or other physical measurements are not widely documented. His public identity has consistently centered on his professional expertise rather than his appearance.
Career and Major Achievements
The career of Connell Cowan stretches far beyond his connection to Susan Sullivan. He is an established clinical psychologist whose professional work has focused on relationships, emotional behavior, personal development, and behavioral change.
One of his biggest achievements came with Smart Women/Foolish Choices, which he co-authored with psychologist Dr. Melvyn Kinder.
According to Cowan’s publisher, the book became a major commercial success, remained on The New York Times bestseller list for nearly a year, sold millions of copies, and was translated into 23 languages. It was even adapted into a musical in Japan.
Cowan and Kinder followed that success with Women Men Love/Women Men Leave. That book also became a New York Times bestseller and continued their exploration of attraction, relationships, and emotional commitment.
Their relationship-focused trilogy was completed with Husbands & Wives. The book examined marital dissatisfaction and emphasized the importance of taking responsibility for one’s own emotional needs rather than expecting a spouse to provide every solution.
Cowan later co-authored The Art of War for Lovers with Gail Parent and expanded into the study of brain chemistry and behavior with Override, written with Dr. David Kipper.
His achievements also include establishing the Human Sciences Center in Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization focused on research and treatment. Work associated with the center was featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes.
He has additionally appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs and has contributed writings to journals, magazines, and newspapers.
Relationship With Susan Sullivan
For many entertainment fans, Connell Cowan is recognized as Susan Sullivan’s longtime partner.
Sullivan is known for television roles including Maggie Gioberti Channing on Falcon Crest, Kitty Montgomery on Dharma & Greg, and Martha Rodgers on Castle. Despite spending decades in Hollywood, she has maintained a remarkably stable private relationship with Cowan.
Their relationship appears to have begun around the late 1980s. In a 2000 interview, Sullivan said they had been together for nearly 13 years. In 2013, the Los Angeles Times described Cowan as her companion of 25 years.
More recently, Sullivan discussed their relationship while recounting how Cowan supported her during a serious health concern, describing him as her partner of approximately 35 years.
Their long partnership stands out in an industry where celebrity relationships often receive intense attention.
Sullivan has also shared the story of how they met. She explained that a fellow Falcon Crest actress introduced her to Cowan after mentioning the psychologist who had written Smart Women/Foolish Choices. The connection apparently developed quickly from there.
Marriage and Family Life
Although some online databases have described the couple as married, authoritative professional biographies consistently refer to Susan Sullivan as Connell Cowan‘s longtime partner.
Sullivan herself has also publicly used terms such as “partner,” “companion,” and the man with whom she shares her life. Therefore, it is more accurate to describe their relationship as a longstanding partnership rather than confidently claim a legally documented marriage.
The couple has shared homes and everyday life for decades.
In a 2000 interview, Sullivan talked warmly about their weekends together. She described sharing a beach house in Carpinteria, taking walks near the ocean, visiting Santa Barbara, and enjoying a quieter lifestyle away from Hollywood. She also revealed that Cowan enjoys cooking.
Cowan’s official Override biography states that he has two adult children and lives in Los Angeles with Sullivan.
Public information about his children is limited, which suggests that the family has generally chosen to keep that part of their lives private.
Social Media Presence
Unlike many contemporary authors and public personalities, Connell Cowan does not appear to have built his reputation around social media.
His public presence comes primarily through his books, psychology work, media interviews, professional biographies, and appearances with Susan Sullivan.
This makes sense considering that much of his career was established decades before social platforms became an important part of personal branding.
Readers may find pages promoting his books or publisher biographies online, but a widely recognized personal social-media presence is not central to his public identity.
That comparatively low profile also matches the way Cowan and Sullivan have handled their relationship. They have spoken openly about one another at times without turning their private life into a constant source of publicity.
Who Is Susan Sullivan?
Susan Sullivan is an American actress born in New York City on November 18, 1942. She has enjoyed a television and theater career spanning more than six decades.
She became especially recognizable through Falcon Crest, where she played Maggie Gioberti Channing. Younger television audiences may know her as Kitty Montgomery from Dharma & Greg or Martha Rodgers, the colorful mother of Richard Castle, on Castle.
Sullivan’s career also includes stage work, daytime television, films, and voice acting.
Her relationship with Connell Cowan has lasted through major stages of both of their careers. In interviews, she has repeatedly spoken about him with warmth and has described the stability they have found together.
Their lives also represent an interesting contrast. Sullivan built her career in front of audiences and cameras, while Cowan became successful by analyzing human behavior from a psychological perspective.
Personality and Interests
There is no comprehensive public profile detailing every aspect of Cowan’s personality, but interviews involving Sullivan offer small glimpses into the man outside his professional career.
Sullivan has described their shared life as active but peaceful. Their weekends have included beach walks, trips into Santa Barbara, home life, and time away from the entertainment industry’s constant activity.
She has also mentioned that Cowan enjoys cooking.
His professional interests naturally revolve around psychology, relationships, behavior, and the way people respond to stress and emotional challenges.
Later in his career, his work with Dr. David Kipper expanded these interests into the relationship between brain chemistry and behavioral patterns. Their book Override presents a framework for understanding habits and changing self-defeating responses.
Cowan’s career suggests a strong interest in understanding why people behave as they do and how greater self-awareness can improve everyday decisions.
Does Connell Cowan Have Children?
Yes. According to his official author biography for Override, Connell Cowan has two adult children.
However, reliable public information about their names, careers, ages, or personal lives is limited.
Susan Sullivan has not generally presented herself publicly as the mother of Cowan’s children, and the couple has kept family matters outside the spotlight.
That privacy is worth respecting. The available information confirms that Cowan is a father without providing enough verified detail to responsibly create a more elaborate account of his children’s lives.
Net Worth and Income
There is no reliable, publicly verified figure for Connell Cowan‘s net worth.
Celebrity-focused websites sometimes publish estimated wealth figures for authors, psychologists, and celebrity partners, but such numbers are frequently based on assumptions rather than access to actual financial records.
Cowan has nevertheless had several clear professional income sources throughout his career.
He has worked as a practicing clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, written commercially successful books, participated in television and media projects, and engaged in teaching and consulting activities.
The enormous success of Smart Women/Foolish Choices likely generated meaningful publishing income, although exact royalties and contract details have not been publicly disclosed.
His other successful titles, including Women Men Love/Women Men Leave and Override, add to a career built across several professional fields.
It is therefore reasonable to describe Cowan as an accomplished professional and bestselling author, but assigning him an exact net worth without dependable financial documentation would be misleading.
Public Image and Legacy
The public image of Connell Cowan is shaped by two distinct parts of his life: his work in psychology and his longtime relationship with Susan Sullivan.
Professionally, his strongest legacy remains Smart Women/Foolish Choices. The book reached millions of readers and became part of a major wave of relationship-focused popular psychology.
Some ideas found in relationship books from the 1980s may appear dated when viewed through modern attitudes toward gender and relationships. Still, Cowan’s larger themes remain familiar: emotional patterns, partner selection, personal responsibility, attraction, commitment, and behavioral change.
His later work shows an effort to move beyond relationship advice and explore why habits can be difficult to change.
On a personal level, his decades-long partnership with Sullivan has created a different kind of public interest. They have avoided excessive publicity while occasionally sharing enough about their relationship to reveal a strong sense of companionship.
Instead of being known merely as “Susan Sullivan’s partner,” Cowan has a substantial professional legacy of his own.
Conclusion
Connell Cowan has spent decades examining relationships and human behavior while living a comparatively private life outside his professional work.
As a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, teacher, researcher, and founder of the Human Sciences Center, he developed a career that reached far beyond the consulting room. Books such as Smart Women/Foolish Choices introduced his ideas to millions of readers and made him a significant figure in popular relationship psychology.
His relationship with Susan Sullivan adds another fascinating dimension to his story. Together for more than three decades, they have maintained a partnership marked by companionship, privacy, and mutual support.
While many details about Cowan’s early life, age, finances, and family remain private, his documented achievements offer a clear picture: he is far more than a celebrity partner. He is an accomplished psychologist and author whose work has influenced discussions about love, marriage, behavior, and personal change for decades.
FAQs About Connell Cowan
Who is Connell Cowan?
Connell Cowan is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, researcher, and relationship expert based in Los Angeles. He is especially known for co-writing Smart Women/Foolish Choices.
Is Connell Cowan Susan Sullivan’s husband?
Susan Sullivan and Cowan have been longtime partners for more than three decades. Reliable professional sources typically describe Sullivan as his partner rather than confirming a legal marriage.
How did Connell Cowan and Susan Sullivan meet?
Sullivan has said a Falcon Crest colleague introduced her to Cowan after telling her about the psychologist behind Smart Women/Foolish Choices. Their relationship began around the late 1980s.
What does Connell Cowan do for a living?
He is a clinical psychologist and author. His career has also included research, teaching, consulting, television projects, and media appearances.
What is Connell Cowan’s most famous book?
His best-known book is Smart Women/Foolish Choices, co-written with Melvyn Kinder. The title became a major bestseller and remained on The New York Times bestseller list for nearly a year.
Does Connell Cowan have children?
Yes. His official professional biography states that he has two adult children, although further details about them are kept private.
What is Connell Cowan’s net worth?
No trustworthy public source has confirmed his exact net worth. His income has likely come from clinical psychology, bestselling books, consulting, teaching, and media-related work.
Where does Connell Cowan live?
His professional biography states that he lives in Los Angeles with his longtime partner, Susan Sullivan.