Actress Kirstie Alley Dies of Cancer at 71

Kirstie Alley, who won an Emmy for her role on “Cheers” and starred in movies including "Look Who’s Talking", died of cancer on Monday at the age of 71.

She was diagnosed with cancer recently, her children True and Lillie Parker said in a post on Twitter. 

“As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother,” her children’s statement said.

Born on January 12, 1951, in Wichita, Kansas, Alley began her screen career in the late 1970s. Her first television appearances were as a game show contestant, on “The Match Game” in 1979 and “Password” in 1980.

She landed her first starring TV role in the short-lived ABC drama series "Masquerade", opposite Rod Taylor and Greg Evigan. It aired from December 1983-April 1984.

Alley made her big-screen debut playing Saavik in the hit 1982 movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".

She starred opposite Ted Danson as Rebecca Howe on “Cheers”, the beloved NBC sitcom about a Boston bar, from 1987 to 1993.

The late actress joined the series at the height of its popularity after the departure of original star Shelley Long. She win an Emmy for best lead actress in a comedy series for the role in 1991.

She took a second Emmy for best lead actress in a miniseries or television movie in 1993 for playing the title role in the CBS TV movie “David’s Mother”.

Alley had her own sitcom on the network, “Veronica’s Closet”, from 1997 to 2000. She was nominated for an Emmy in 1998 for her role in the series.

In 1989, Alley collaborated with John Travolta in the comedy “Look Who’s Talking,” which gave her a major career boost. 

She played the mother of a baby whose inner thoughts were voiced by Bruce Willis. Alley reprised her role in a 1990 sequel “Look Who’s Talking Too,” and another in 1993 “Look Who’s Talking Now”.

“Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again,” Travolta paid her tribute in an Instagram post.

She played a fictionalized version of herself in the 2005 Showtime series “Fat Actress”, a show that drew comedy from her public and media treatment over her weight gain and loss.

The late actress dealt with the same subject matter in the 2010 A&E reality series “Kirstie Alley’s Big Life”, which chronicled her attempt to lose weight and launch a weight-loss program while working as a single mother in an unconventional household that included pet lemurs.

In recent years she appeared on several other reality shows, including a second-place finish on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2011. She appeared in the competition series “The Masked Singer” wearing a baby mammoth costume earlier this year.

She also starred in the Ryan Murphy black comedy series “Scream Queens” on Fox in 2015 and 2016.

Alley was married to her high school sweetheart from 1970 to 1977, and to actor Parker Stevenson from 1983 until 1997.