CNN
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Actress Kirstie Alley, a star of the big and small screens known for her Emmy-winning roles in “Cheers” and movies like “Look Who’s Talking,” has died after a short battle with cancer, her children True and Lillie Parker announced. social media.
She was 71.
“We are saddened to announce that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with recently discovered cancer,” the statement read.
“She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us assured of her never-ending joy in life and whatever adventures lie ahead,” the family’s statement continued. “As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”
“Our mom’s zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many pets, not to mention her eternal joy in creating, was unmatched and leaves us inspired to live life to the fullest as she did,” the statement said.
Kirstie Alley’s sexy cut on ‘DWTS’
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– Source: HLN
Donovan Daughtry, Alley’s representative, also confirmed to CNN via email that the actress had died.
Two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1951.
After a prominent role in 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, she starred in films such as 1984’s “Blind Date” and 1987’s “Summer School” opposite Mark Harmon.
That same year, Alley would follow Shelley Long to star opposite Ted Danson in the second installment of the classic TV sitcom “Cheers,” which premiered in 1982. Alley first appeared in 1987, playing a strong and independent bar manager Rebecca Howe. acclaimed show until its end in 1993.
After winning an Emmy in 1991 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for “Cheers” and another for Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for 1994’s “David’s Mother,” she again found television success in the late 1990s with the series “Veronica’s Closet”. “, to which Emmy nodded again.
In addition, Alley starred in many memorable films, such as “Look Who’s Talking,” 1990’s “Mad Man,” and 1999’s “Drop Dead Gorgeous” with Ellen Barkin.
In 2005, Alley wrote and starred in the Showtime comedy “Fat Actress” before making her foray into reality TV.
She appeared in ‘Kirstie Alley’s Big Life’ in 2010, the next year she was a contestant on season 12 of ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and in 2018 she was runner-up in series 22 of the UK version of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’. In 2022, she competed in the 7th season of the Fox series “The Masked Singer”.
Although she had an impressive body of work, the later part of her career was marked by Alley’s penchant for stirring up controversy, particularly through social media.
In an interview in 2007, Alley said that she was proud of the fact that she had no obstacles.
“I’ve always felt that when someone asks me something, they want a real answer,” Alley told Good Housekeeping. “I think there’s something to being from Kansas. Mostly people think I’m from New York. The only similarity between New Yorkers and Midwesterners is that what you see is what you get.’
John Travolta, who co-starred with Alley in the 1989 hit ‘Look Who’s Talking’ as well as two sequels, wrote on Instagram on Monday: ‘Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we’ll see each other again.”
Jamie Lee Curtis – who worked with Alley on 2016 episodes of TV’s ‘Scream Queens’ – shared a statement on Facebook paying tribute to the late actress, writing: ‘She was a great comic on @tvscreamqueens and a beautiful mama bear in her real life. She helped me buy candy for my family that year for Christmas. We agreed to disagree on some things, but we had a mutual respect and connection. Sad news.”
Josh Gad tweeted: “My heart breaks for Kirstie and her family. Whether it was her brilliance in ‘Cheers; or her magnetic performance in the ‘Look Who’s Talking’ franchise, her smile was always contagious, her laugh was always infectious and her charisma was always iconic. RIP.”
Alley’s “Cheers” co-star Ted Danson told Deadline that he had just watched Alley on an episode of the show on a plane before learning of her death.
“I was on a plane today and I did something I rarely do. I was watching an old episode of ‘Cheers,'” Danson told the portal. “It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposed to Kirstie, who keeps saying no even though she desperately wants to say yes. Kirstie was really brilliant at that. Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was touching and hysterically funny.”
“She made me laugh 30 years ago when she filmed that scene, and she makes me laugh just as hard today. When I got off the plane I heard that Kirstie had passed away. I’m so sad and thankful for all the times she made me laugh,” Danson added. “I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss it.”
Another “Cheers” star, Rhea Perlman, told CNN in a statement that she and Alley became instant friends on the set of “Cheers.”
“Kirstie was a unique and wonderful person and friend. Her joy of being was boundless,” Perlman said. “We became friends almost immediately when she joined the cast of Cheers. She loved children and my children loved her too. We slept at her house while searching for the treasures she created. She threw massive Halloween and Easter parties and invited the entire cast of the show and their families. She wanted everyone to feel included. She loved her children deeply. I’ve never met anyone even remotely like her. I feel very grateful to know her. I will miss him very, very much.”
“Baywatch” actor Parker Stevenson, who was married to Alley from 1983 to 1997 and is the father of her two children, also paid tribute on social media. In an Instagram post, which the actor’s representative confirmed was Stevenson, he wrote: “Kirstie, I am so grateful for our years together and the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren we have. I will miss you.”
