Susan Acevedo is best known as the first wife of legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young. Their marriage lasted only from 1968 to 1970, but those two years came during a major turning point in Young’s life. He had just left Buffalo Springfield, was beginning his solo career, and was becoming part of the creative community around Topanga Canyon in California.
Unlike the women who became part of Neil Young’s later public life, Susan largely disappeared from celebrity coverage after their divorce. She did not build a career from being his former wife, publish a memoir, or spend decades discussing their relationship.
That privacy has created plenty of curiosity—and also misinformation. Susan’s exact age, current home, later relationships, children, and finances are often presented online as settled facts when much of that information is poorly documented.
Why Is Susan Acevedo Known Today?
Susan occupies a small but interesting place in rock history because she was with Neil Young before he became the towering solo artist remembered today.
The Los Angeles Times, in its obituary for Neil’s second wife Pegi Young, identifies Susan as a restaurant owner and confirms that she was married to Neil from 1968 until 1970.
That short description is useful because it comes from a much stronger source than the many modern biography sites that repeat stories about Susan.
She was not an actress or singer trying to become famous.
Her connection to the entertainment world appears to have come through the unusual social environment surrounding Topanga Canyon during the late 1960s.
What Do We Know About Susan Acevedo’s Early Life?
Very little reliable information about Susan’s childhood is publicly available.
Her exact birth date has not been established by a strong mainstream source. Neither have detailed facts about her parents, siblings, education, or childhood home.
Some biographies describe her as Sicilian-American. One profile researching her background notes that Neil himself had described Susan as Sicilian, although the details of that ancestry remain unclear.
This is an important place to separate what is known from what is assumed.
Susan became connected to a famous musician, but that did not automatically make her earlier life part of the public record.
Was Susan Acevedo a Restaurant Owner?
Yes. This is one of the better-supported facts about her.
The Los Angeles Times described Susan as a restaurant owner when discussing Neil Young’s relationship history.
Other accounts connect her with restaurant work in the Topanga Canyon area, describing her as a hostess as well as an owner. The exact history and ownership structure of the restaurant is less consistently documented, so those finer details should be treated cautiously.
Still, her restaurant connection makes sense within the world she inhabited.
Topanga Canyon became a gathering place for musicians, writers, artists, actors, and other creative people during this period.
Susan did not have to work in the record industry to meet musicians.
They were already part of the community around her.
How Did Susan Acevedo Meet Neil Young?
The exact story of their first meeting is not as firmly documented as their marriage itself.
What is clear is that their relationship developed during Neil’s California years around the end of Buffalo Springfield.
Neil had arrived in Los Angeles during the 1960s and became part of Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin.
The band produced songs including “For What It’s Worth” and helped establish Neil inside the Los Angeles music scene.
But Buffalo Springfield did not last long.
By 1968, the group was finished, and Neil was moving toward a solo career.
Susan entered his life during this transition.
That timing is what makes her story particularly interesting.
A natural related article would be Neil Young’s early years with Buffalo Springfield and the beginning of his solo career.
When Did Susan Acevedo Marry Neil Young?
Susan and Neil married in December 1968.
Historical records differ slightly on the exact day. One biographical chronology gives December 7, 1968, while modern secondary accounts sometimes give December 1.
Because of that conflict, December 1968 is the safest firmly stated date unless relying on a primary marriage record.
The relationship was short.
Susan filed for divorce in October 1970, according to a biographical chronology of Neil’s life.
So their marriage lasted less than two years.
Was Susan Acevedo Neil Young’s First Wife?
Yes.
Susan was Neil Young’s first wife.
After their relationship ended, Neil became involved with actress Carrie Snodgress. They never married, but they had a son, Zeke Young.
Neil later married Pegi Morton Young in 1978. That marriage lasted for more than three decades before Neil filed for divorce in 2014. Pegi died in 2019.
Neil subsequently married actress Daryl Hannah in 2018.
Susan therefore belongs to a very early chapter of his personal life.
What Was Neil Young’s Career Like During Their Marriage?
This is where Susan’s short marriage becomes historically interesting.
Neil was not yet the established legend he later became.
His first solo album, Neil Young, appeared around the beginning of their marriage.
Then came Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere in 1969, recorded with Crazy Horse.
That album included songs that became central to his career, including “Cinnamon Girl,” “Cowgirl in the Sand,” and “Down by the River.”
By 1970, Neil was also working with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Then came After the Gold Rush.
Susan’s marriage to Neil therefore overlapped with one of the fastest periods of artistic growth in his entire career.
She saw the transition from former Buffalo Springfield member to major solo songwriter.
Was “Cinnamon Girl” About Susan Acevedo?
This is a fascinating question, but the answer is not simply yes.
Neil wrote “Cinnamon Girl” while married to Susan.
In his later liner notes, he described the song as being inspired by a “city girl” connected in his imagination with folk singer Jean Ray and Phil Ochs. He also joked that the idea was difficult to explain to his wife—Susan at the time.
So Susan was connected to the story surrounding the song because she was Neil’s wife when he wrote it.
But that does not mean Susan herself was the “Cinnamon Girl.”
Claims that identify her as the direct subject should therefore be treated cautiously.
Did Susan Influence After the Gold Rush?
Modern biographies make several interesting claims about Susan’s connection with the visual world surrounding After the Gold Rush.
One recurring story says Susan sewed patches onto clothing Neil wore around this period, including jeans associated with imagery from the album era.
However, the more dramatic versions of this story—including highly specific claims about exactly how those patches were made—come mainly from secondary biography sites rather than strong primary documentation.
It is reasonable to say Susan was present during the creation of After the Gold Rush.
It is much harder to prove that she should be considered a major creative collaborator on the album itself.
That distinction protects a good story from becoming an exaggerated one.
What Was Topanga Canyon Like During Their Marriage?
Topanga Canyon was an extraordinary place during the late 1960s.
Its location outside central Los Angeles made it attractive to musicians and artists who wanted distance from conventional city life without leaving the entertainment industry behind.
Neil became strongly associated with the area.
Susan’s restaurant background placed her naturally within this community.
Restaurants and homes were important gathering places in an era before artists communicated through social media or smartphones.
People met face-to-face.
Musicians dropped into one another’s houses.
Songs developed informally.
Ideas moved through friendships.
Susan was living within that environment while Neil’s musical identity was changing rapidly.
A useful internal-link opportunity would be Topanga Canyon’s role in the careers of famous 1960s and 1970s musicians.
Why Did Susan Acevedo and Neil Young Divorce?
Susan filed for divorce in 1970.
But the exact private reasons for the breakup are not firmly documented in reliable mainstream reporting.
This is an area where biography websites can easily go too far.
Neil’s life during those years was changing quickly.
His career was accelerating.
He was recording constantly.
He was entering new musical partnerships.
But none of those facts automatically tells us why a marriage ended.
Without a clear statement from Susan or Neil, the responsible answer is that the marriage did not last and Susan sought divorce, while the detailed private reasons remain largely theirs.
Did Susan Acevedo and Neil Young Have Children?
There is no reliable evidence that Susan and Neil had a child together.
Neil’s publicly documented children came from later relationships.
His son Zeke was born during his relationship with Carrie Snodgress.
He later had Ben and Amber with Pegi Young.
Some online profiles claim Susan later had a daughter named Tia after another relationship or marriage.
That claim is not nearly as strongly documented as her marriage to Neil.
It should therefore not be presented as unquestionable fact without better primary evidence.
The safest conclusion is that Susan and Neil had no publicly documented children together.
Who Was Carrie Snodgress?
After his marriage to Susan ended, Neil became involved with actress Carrie Snodgress.
Carrie had received an Academy Award nomination for Diary of a Mad Housewife.
Their relationship produced Neil’s first son, Zeke.
Carrie also became associated with some of Neil’s songwriting from the period.
This relationship is sometimes mistakenly mixed into Susan’s story because the timeline is close.
Keeping the chronology clear helps:
Susan was the wife during the late 1960s and into 1970.
Carrie became Neil’s major partner afterward.
Who Was Pegi Young?
Pegi Young became Neil’s second wife.
They met during the 1970s and married in 1978.
Their marriage lasted 36 years before Neil filed for divorce in 2014.
Pegi later developed her own music career and was also known for co-founding the Bridge School with Neil.
The school was created for children with significant physical and communication needs.
Pegi died from cancer on January 1, 2019, at age 66.
Susan’s life took a very different direction.
Rather than remaining publicly connected to Neil’s career, she largely vanished from entertainment reporting after their divorce.
What Happened to Susan Acevedo After the Divorce?
This is probably the biggest mystery surrounding her.
Susan did not build a public career around her former marriage.
She did not regularly appear in Neil Young documentaries.
She did not become a frequent source for journalists writing about him.
And there is no widely recognized verified social-media account through which she discusses her life today.
Recent research into her biography reaches essentially the same conclusion: her later employment, relationships, residence, and everyday life are not consistently documented.
That does not mean nothing happened to her.
It simply means those things happened privately.
Did Susan Acevedo Remarry?
Some secondary sources say yes.
One profile claims she later remarried and had a daughter.
But the identity of a later husband and a reliable marriage timeline are not well established by stronger sources.
Because Susan Acevedo is also a relatively common name, there is an additional danger.
Search results can easily combine information about unrelated women.
For example, a 2001 Washington Post article includes a Susan Acevedo from Pennsylvania discussing her Puerto Rican husband. That woman was 31 at the time and is clearly not Neil Young’s former wife.
This is exactly why later-life claims about Neil Young’s Susan Acevedo require careful verification.
Is Susan Acevedo Still Alive in 2026?
There is no credible, widely reported announcement confirming the death of Neil Young’s first wife.
However, that should not be turned into an unsupported claim that her exact current circumstances are known.
Susan has been out of the public eye for decades.
Recent searches produce numerous people with the same name, making accidental identity mixing particularly easy.
The most accurate wording in 2026 is that no reliable public death report for Neil Young’s former wife Susan Acevedo has been established, while her current personal circumstances remain private.
Where Does Susan Acevedo Live Today?
Her current residence is not reliably confirmed.
Some online biographies attempt to provide a state or city.
Without direct evidence connecting those records to Neil Young’s former wife, those claims should not be repeated.
This is especially important because searches reveal many living Americans named Susan Acevedo.
A private person who briefly married a celebrity more than half a century ago should not have an unrelated person’s location attached to her biography simply because the names match.
Susan’s current home should therefore be described as private.
Does Susan Acevedo Have Social Media?
No verified public social-media account has been firmly established as belonging to Neil Young’s first wife.
Again, accounts using the name Susan Acevedo certainly exist.
That does not prove they belong to her.
She disappeared from sustained entertainment coverage decades before social media existed.
Her decision to remain private appears remarkably consistent.
What Is Susan Acevedo’s Net Worth?
Susan Acevedo’s net worth is not publicly verified.
Any exact figure should be treated skeptically.
Neil Young became extremely successful after their divorce.
But his later fortune should not simply be assigned to a woman whose marriage to him ended in 1970.
There is also no reliable public record showing Susan’s later income, property, investments, businesses, or divorce settlement in enough detail to calculate a personal fortune.
The accurate answer is simply that her financial position is private.
Why Is Susan Acevedo Sometimes Forgotten in Neil Young’s Story?
Timing is probably the biggest reason.
Susan’s marriage ended just as Neil was becoming much more famous.
By the time Harvest arrived in 1972 and turned him into an even bigger star, Susan was no longer his wife.
Neil’s later relationships lasted longer and became more visible.
Carrie Snodgress was a famous actress.
Pegi Young spent decades beside him and developed her own public career.
Daryl Hannah was already internationally famous before marrying him.
Susan was different.
She entered the story early and left early.
Then she did not try to return.
That makes her easy to overlook.
What Makes Susan Acevedo’s Story Interesting?
Susan gives us a view of Neil Young before the mythology became fully established.
She knew him when his future was still uncertain.
Buffalo Springfield had ended.
His solo career was beginning.
Crazy Horse was developing.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was emerging.
And some of the songs that would define him for decades were being written.
Susan experienced that transition from inside the marriage.
Then, instead of staying connected to the celebrity world, she left it behind.
That contrast is what keeps people searching for her more than five decades later.
Interesting Facts About Susan Acevedo
Susan Acevedo was Neil Young’s first wife, and the Los Angeles Times identifies her as a restaurant owner.
They married in December 1968 and separated by 1970, with Susan filing for divorce that October.
Their marriage overlapped with Neil’s transition from Buffalo Springfield into his early solo career.
Neil wrote “Cinnamon Girl” while married to Susan and later joked that the inspiration behind the song was difficult to explain to his wife.
Susan was present during the period surrounding Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After the Gold Rush.
She and Neil had no publicly documented children together.
After their divorce, Susan largely disappeared from entertainment coverage.
Her exact birth date, current residence, personal net worth, and detailed later life have not been reliably established.
Final Thoughts
Susan Acevedo was part of Neil Young’s life for only a short period, but it was hardly an ordinary period.
When they married in December 1968, Neil was standing between two versions of himself.
One chapter had just ended.
Buffalo Springfield was gone.
The next chapter was beginning.
Neil was becoming a solo artist.
Crazy Horse entered the picture.
Songs such as “Cinnamon Girl,” “Down by the River,” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” arrived.
Then came Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and After the Gold Rush.
Susan witnessed that transformation from close range.
She was not simply someone who married an already established rock legend.
She married a musician whose future was still being written.
Their relationship did not survive that period.
By October 1970, Susan had filed for divorce.
Neil moved into other relationships and eventually became one of the most influential singer-songwriters of his generation.
Susan went in almost the opposite direction.
She became private.
That is why her biography has so many blank spaces.
We do not have a firmly verified birthday.
We do not have a detailed account of her childhood.
We cannot confidently map every relationship after Neil.
Her current residence is not established.
Her net worth is unknown.
Even claims about later children require caution.
Those missing details should not be treated as a problem that needs to be solved with guesses.
They are part of Susan Acevedo’s story.
She had a brief connection with enormous fame and then managed to live for decades without turning that connection into a public identity.
For readers interested in Neil Young’s history, Susan remains important because she belonged to the moment before everything changed.
She was there during the Topanga Canyon years, the early solo records, and the period when a former member of Buffalo Springfield was discovering exactly what kind of artist he wanted to become.
Then she stepped away.
More than 50 years later, that decision to remain private may be the most distinctive thing about Susan Acevedo.
For more carefully researched celebrity biographies and family stories, visit Charles Magazine.
FAQs About Susan Acevedo
Who is Susan Acevedo?
Susan Acevedo is the first wife of Neil Young. She was associated with restaurant work and married Young during the early years of his solo career.
When did Susan Acevedo marry Neil Young?
Susan and Neil married in December 1968. Sources differ on the exact day, so December 1968 is the safest established date.
When did Susan Acevedo and Neil Young divorce?
Susan filed for divorce in October 1970. Their marriage therefore lasted less than two years.
Did Susan Acevedo and Neil Young have children?
There are no publicly documented children from their marriage. Neil’s known children came from later relationships.
Was “Cinnamon Girl” written about Susan Acevedo?
There is no good evidence that Susan herself was the “Cinnamon Girl.” Neil’s own explanation pointed toward a different inspiration, although he noted that explaining the song to his wife at the time was difficult.
Did Susan Acevedo remarry?
Some secondary sources claim that she later remarried, but the details are not sufficiently documented by strong sources to present as firmly established fact.
Is Susan Acevedo still alive in 2026?
There is no credible public death announcement clearly identified as belonging to Neil Young’s first wife. Her current circumstances remain private, and unrelated people with the same name make identification difficult.
What is Susan Acevedo’s net worth?
Her personal net worth has never been reliably established. Exact estimates found on celebrity biography websites should be treated as speculation.
