Kirstie Alley, the famous actress known for her roles in Cheers and Look Who’s Talking (among many others), has passed away at the age of 71. The news of her death broke on December 5, as she passed away after a battle with cancer.
A joint statement from Kirstie Alley’s children, Lillie and True Parker, arrived via her social media. The statement revealed that Alley passed from an undisclosed form of cancer, which had only been recently discovered:
Though Kirstie Alley had some early success in Hollywood that included the role of Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan in 1982, it wasn’t until her role in Cheers starting in 1987 as Rebecca Howe that she really broke out. Alley gained an Emmy for her portrayal of the character in 1991 and was nominated four additional times for the award of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Alley would earn a second Emmy for her role in the television movie David’s Mother in 1994, just one year after Cheers ended.
Along with her successful TV run on Cheers, Kirstie Alley became a hit on the big screen as Mollie alongside John Travolta and Bruce Willis in the popular film Look Who’s Talking in 1989. The film proved popular enough to spawn two sequels, Look Who’s Talking Too (1990) and Look Who’s Talking Now (1993). In 1995, Kirstie Alley was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She also ended up leading her own series, Veronica’s Closet, which ran for three seasons from 1997-2000. While her starring roles weren’t quite as frequent in the years that followed, she was a guest star on notable shows like The Goldbergs, The Middle, Hot In Cleveland, and the criminally underrated and canceled series Scream Queens.
Kirstie Alley also made a name for herself as a spokesperson who did campaigns for Pier One and Jenny Craig. She furthermore found a number of gigs in celebrity competition shows, with stints on the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother and Dancing With The Stars.
In regards to Dancing With The Stars, Kirstie Alley partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy in Season 12, and they nearly won the entire competition as they waltzed their way to a runner-up finish. Alley returned to the show in Season 15 to take another run at winning the Mirrorball trophy but ended up falling short with a seventh-place finish.
Kirstie Alley was also one of the eliminated contestants revealed in The Masked Singer Season 7, where she performed while wearing the Baby Mammoth costume. The season ultimately crowned Teyana Taylor as its winner and was broadcast earlier this year is listed as her most recent credit on IMDB.
CinemaBlend would like to offer its condolences to the family and friends of Kirstie Alley and wish them well during this difficult time. No doubt as more time passes, former co-stars and colleagues of Alley will post their tributes to the beloved actress.
