| Kirstie Alley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Kirstie Louise Alley |
| Born: | January 12, 1951 |
| Birth Hometown: | Wichita, Kansas |
| Died: | December 5, 2022 (aged 71) |
| Place of death: | Tampa, Florida |
| Occupation: | actress, television personality |
| Years active: | 1976-2022 |
| Known for: | playing Rebecca Howe on Cheers |
| Website/URL: | kirstiealley.com |
Kirstie Louise Alley (born January 12, 1951 - death December 5, 2022) was an American actress and comedian known for her TV role in Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe (replacing original actress Shelley Long who played Diane Chambers from 1982 until 1987) from 1987 until 1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991. She is also known for her role in the thriller Shoot to Kill and the Look Who's Talking film series as Mollie Ubriacco. More recently, Alley has appeared in reality shows revolving around her life.
Early Life[]
Kristie Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas, the daughter of Lillian Mickie (née Heaton) and Robert Deal Alley, who owned a lumber company. Alley is of Irish decent. She has two siblings, Colette and Craig. Alley attended Wichita Southeast High School, graduating in 1969. She attended college at Kansas State University in 1969. After moving to Los Angeles to pursue Scientology and work as an interior designer, she appeared as a contestant on Match Game in 1979, where she won $6,000 over two games. She also won $800 on Password Plus in 1980 with celebrity guests Lucille Ball and Dick Martin. A car accident caused by a drunk driver killed her mother and left her father seriously injured. Her father eventually recovered.
Career[]
Alley made her movie debut in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, playing the Vulcan Starfleet officer Lieutenant Saavik. In 1987, She joined the cast of Cheers, replacing Shelley Long and remaining on the show until its eleventh and final season in 1993. In 1989, Alley starred with John Travolta in Look Who's Talking, the film grossed over $295,000,000 worldwide. They then went on to make two other films centered around the same theme, Look Who's Talking Too and Look Who's Talking Now!.
Alley has won two Emmy Awards during her career. Her first two nominations for her work on Cheers did not earn her the award, but her third, in 1991, garnered her the statuette for that series. In her speech, she thanked then-husband Parker Stevenson, calling him "the man who has given me the big one for the last eight years".
For contributions to the motion picture industry, Alley was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard.
Alley played the title character in the NBC sitcom Veronica's Closest, as well as serving as executive producers on the show. She served as the spokesperson for Pier One from 2000 until 2004 and for Jenny Craig from 2005 until 2008.
TV Land will air a new sitcom that will center Alley as a Broadway star and a new parent. It is titled Kirstie and will reunite her with former Cheers co-star Rhea Perlman and Seinfeld co-star Michael Richards. The series premiered on December 4, 2013 until its end on February 26, 2014 after one season.
Dancing With the Stars[]
In February 2011, Alley was announced as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Their first dance, a cha-cha-cha earned them the second-highest score, 23 points of a possible 30. In May 2011, Alley and Chmerkovskiy performed their final dance, also a cha-cha-cha, which earned them a perfect score of 30 out of 30. Alley finished the competiton in second place, behind NFL Super Bowl champion Hines Ward. She also took part in the 15th season of DWTS for a secomd chance to win the mirrorball trophy again with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. They were the seventh couple eliminated from the competition.
The Masked Singer[]
In 2022, Alley competed in the seven season of The Masked Singer as "Baby Mammoth" of Team Cuddly. Alley was eliminated in the eight episode of season 7.
Personal Life[]
Alley met and dated a distant cousin, Bob Alley, in High School. They married in 1970; her husband thus had the same name as her father. However, they divorced seven years later as their career paths diverged. Alley was married to her second husband, Parker Stevenson (Richard Stevenson Parker, Jr.) on December 22, 1983. They divorced in 1997. Alley and Stevenson share custody of their two children, William True and Lillie Price.
Weight Gain[]
On September 17, 2012, Alley appeared on The Dr. Oz Show where she admitted that she started gaining weight in late 2003. Alley claimed she spent her whole life eating obsessively without gaining weight and only noticed a change in her body after she went into early menopause in 1992.
Weight Loss[]
In March 2010, Alley launched Organic Liaison, which includes Rescue Me, the first USDA-certified organic weight loss product. She announced that she had lost 100 pounds (45 kg) using the program in September 2011.
Scientology[]
Alley was raised as a Methodist, but has been a member of the Church of Scientology since 1979. At the time she became a Scientologist, Alley admitted to having had a cocaine addiction and went through Narconon, a Scientology-affliated drug treatment program to end her dependency. She has continued her Scientology training and as of 2007, had attained the level of OT VII (Operating Thetan level 7).
In May 2000, she purchased a 5,200 sq ft (480 m) waterfront mansion from fellow Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley for $1.5 million. The house is in Clearwater, Florida, the spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology. In 2007, Alley gave $5 million to the Church.
Death[]
Alley died on December 5, 2022, following a short battle with colon cancer at age 71. Per a statement released by her children (i.e. William "True" Stevenson & Lillie Price Stevenson), the cancer had only been recently discovered. Her ex-husband Parker Stevenson, her two children, Look Who's Talking co-star John Travolta, and other celebrities such as her Cheers co-stars such as Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer & Rhea Perlman posted their condolences on social media.
Publications[]
Alley has written two autobiographical books, How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life and The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine Al Dente). In the latter, she writes of having fallen for at least two of her leading men, Patrick Swayze, a castmate in the first two North and South miniseries, and John Travolta, her castmate in Look Who's Talking films. In the book, she also denies having been sexually active with either.
Trivia[]
Her death happened on the same day as the premieres of Barmageddon (2022 version) hosted by Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace (a.k.a Nikki Bella) & Back in the Groove (or Back in the Groove with Taye Diggs) hosted by Taye Diggs.
Shows appeared[]
Match Game (1979)
Password Plus (1980)
Dancing with the Stars (2012)
The Masked Singer (2022)
Links[]
Her Official Twitter Page
Kristie Alley's Organic Liasion
Kirstie Alley's Phitter.com
Kirstie Alley at TriviaTribute.com