She was born in Västerås to Inga-Britt Lorentzon (a 1960 Olympian for Sweden in the high jump) and Inge Lorentzon, a national men's sprint champion. Susanne followed in her mother's footsteps while her sister, Annika, took up sprinting like her father. She made her international debut at the 1977 European Athletics Junior Championships, coming 13th overall. Still a teenager, she matched the achievements of her mother by winning the Swedish high jump title in 1979 and was then selected to compete for her country at the 1980 Summer Olympics. On her Olympic debut she cleared a height of in qualifying but did not progress to the final.