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Kirstie Alley, the TV and film star known for her roles in Cheers, Veronica’s Closet and Look Who’s Talking, has died at the age of 71.
Alley’s death was confirmed on Monday night in a statement from her children, William “True” Stevenson and Lillie Parker Stevenson, which was posted to her social media account. Her manager also separately confirmed her death.
Alley had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and was being treated at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida, her family revealed.
“To all our friends, far and wide around the world … We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” the statement said. “She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead. As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”
“We are grateful to the incredible team of doctors and nurses at the Moffitt Cancer Center for their care. Our mother’s zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many animals, not to mention her eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did. We thank you for your love and prayers and ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
Alley’s ex-husband, actor Parker Stevenson, wrote: “I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have. You will be missed.”
John Travolta, Alley’s friend and her Look Who’s Talking co-star, paid tribute to her on social media after the announcement. “Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie,” he wrote, alongside a photo of the late star. “I know we will see each other again.”
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Born in Kansas in 1951, Alley’s breakout arrived in 1987 when she joined the cast of the sitcom Cheers, playing the bar’s new manager Rebecca Howe. Alley was cast after Shelley Long decided to leave the show, leaving the creators Glen and Les Charles scrambling to find a new female lead. Wanting to find an unknown, the Charles brothers finally cast Alley after Carl Reiner personally vouched for her comedy skills, having directed her in 1987 film Summer School.
Alley would win a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her performance as Rebecca in 1991.
She won a second Emmy in 1994 for her performance as a mother of an autistic child in the made-for-television film David’s Mother.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Alley appeared in films including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Summer School, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Woody Allen’s Deconstructing Harry, and Look Who’s Talking and Look Who’s Talking Too. In television, she mainly played comedic roles after Cheers, including the titular character in Veronica’s Closet, the short-lived sitcom Kirstie, and the horror-comedy anthology series Scream Queens.
In the early 2000s, amid extensive coverage of her weight in gossip outlets, Alley created and starred in the show Fat Actress, playing a fictionalised version of herself, as a fat actor trying to find success in Hollywood while fending off predatory tabloids and attempting to find love.
Later in life, Alley went into the reality television industry, documenting her efforts to lose 75 pounds in the reality show Kirstie Alley’s Big Life, and competing on Dancing with the Stars, Celebrity Big Brother and The Masked Singer.
Alley married her high-school sweetheart Bob Alley, who had the same name as her father, in 1970; they divorced in 1977. She later married Stevenson in 1983, and they adopted their two children. They divorced in 1997.
