Kirstie Alley

Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas,^[1] to Robert Deal Alley, who owned a lumber company,^[2] and Lillian Alley.^[3] She had two siblings, Colette and Craig. Alley attended Wichita Southeast High School, graduating in 1969.^[2] She attended college at Kansas State University, dropping out after her sophomore year.^[2] After moving to Los Angeles to pursue Scientology and work as an interior designer, Alley appeared as a contestant on the game show Match Game in 1979.^[4] Winning both her games, she went on to win $500 in her first Super Match and $5,500 in her second.^[5] She also appeared on the game show Password Plus in 1980. On both shows, she described her profession as interior designer. In 1981, an automobile crash involving a drunk driver^[3] killed her mother and left her father seriously injured.^[2]

Alley made her film debut in 1982 in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in the role of the Vulcan Starfleet officer Lieutenant Saavik.^[6] The Saavik character became very popular with Star Trek fans, but Alley chose not to reprise the role in the next two film sequels so the role was recast.^[7] She was also a regular on the ABC television series Masquerade from 1983 to 1984.^[8] In the years following, she starred in a number of smaller films, including One More Chance, Blind Date and Runaway. In 1985, she starred in the ABC miniseries North and South,^[9] and also portrayed feminist icon Gloria Steinem in the television movie A Bunny's Tale.^[8] In 1987, Alley starred alongside Mark Harmon in the comedy film Summer School. The film was a box office success, grossing over $35 million in the United States.^[10]

Later in 1987, Alley joined the cast of NBC sitcom Cheers, replacing Shelley Long. It became her breakout hit role and she remained with the show for six years until its eleventh and final season.^[11] In 1989, Alley starred with John Travolta in Look Who's Talking. The film grossed over $295 million worldwide. They then went on to make two other films centered on the same theme, Look Who's Talking Too and Look Who's Talking Now.^[12] After two Emmy Award nominations for her work on Cheers, in 1988 and 1990, she won the Emmy on her third nomination, in 1991.^[13] In her acceptance speech, she memorably thanked "my husband Parker, the man who has given me the big one for the last eight years."^[14]

Alley earned her second Emmy for the 1994 television film David's Mother.^[13] For her contributions to the film industry, Alley received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in 1995.^[15]

From 1997 to 2000, Alley played the title character in the NBC sitcom Veronica's Closet, as well as serving as executive producer on the show. She served as the spokesperson for Pier 1 Imports from 2000 to 2004, and for Jenny Craig from 2004 to 2007.^[16] She appeared as a contestant on seasons 12 and 15 of Dancing with the Stars, partnering with Maksim Chmerkovskiy.^[17][18]

TV Land aired a sitcom that centered on Alley as Broadway star Madison "Maddie" Banks, who reconnects with her adult son who she gave up for adoption shortly after he was born. The series was titled Kirstie, and reunited her with former Cheers co-star Rhea Perlman and Seinfeld star Michael Richards. The series premiered on December 4, 2013,^[19] and ran for one season before it was canceled, five months after ending its freshman run.^[20]

In 2018, Alley appeared on season 22 of the British series Celebrity Big Brother; she finished in second place.^[17] In 2022, Alley competed in season seven of The Masked Singer as "Baby Mammoth" of Team Cuddly.^[21]

Alley was married from 1971 to 1977 to high-school sweetheart Bob Alley, who coincidentally had the same name as her father.^[22][23] Alley married actor Parker Stevenson on December 22, 1983.^[24] After a miscarriage, the couple adopted their first child, a son, in October 1992, and in 1995, they adopted their second child, a girl.^[24] The marriage ended in 1997.^[23] In 2016, Alley became a grandmother through her son.^[25]

In 1988 and 2000 respectively, Alley purchased estates in Jacksonville, Oregon, and Clearwater, Florida, retaining ownership of both properties until her death in 2022.^[26][27] From 1991 to 2020, Alley also resided on Islesboro Island, Maine. She once owned the Mitchell Cottage, formerly the Islesboro Inn, with her then husband Stevenson.^[28]

Body image

On The Dr. Oz Show on September 17, 2012, Alley said she started gaining weight in late 2003, and that she had been a compulsive eater all her life without gaining weight, only noticing the change after she reached early menopause in 1992.^[29]

While working as a Jenny Craig spokesperson from 2004 to 2007, Alley lost 75 pounds (34 kilograms), bringing her weight down to 145 pounds (66 kg).^[30]

In May 2009, she told People magazine that, after parting ways with Jenny Craig, she gained 83 pounds (38 kg) and weighed as much as 228 pounds (103 kg).^[31]

In March 2010, after gossip blogger Roger Friedman alleged a link between her Organic Liaison weight-loss system and the Church of Scientology, Alley denied it on the Today program.^[32] In September 2011, Alley announced she had lost 100 pounds (45 kg) using weight loss products from Organic Liaison.^[33] In 2012, she faced a class-action lawsuit alleging false advertising; the suit claimed that her weight loss was the result of exercise, including training for the TV show Dancing with the Stars, not Organic Liaison products. She settled the suit in 2013, agreeing to remove the term "Proven Products" from packaging, issue a disclaimer on the brand's website that it is a "calorie-based weight-loss product", and pay a $130,000 settlement.^[34][35]

In April 2014, she resumed a role as a spokesperson with Jenny Craig; the Organic Liaison product line was acquired by Jenny Craig's parent company, and subsequently integrated into Jenny Craig's product line.^[34] In January 2015, Alley said that, since starting the Jenny Craig weight-loss program again, she had lost 50 pounds (23 kg).^[36]

Scientology

Alley was raised as a Methodist;^[37] she became a member of the Church of Scientology in 1979. She said that until she became a Scientologist she had been addicted to cocaine but then went through Narconon, a Scientology-affiliated drug treatment program,^[38] to end her addiction.^[39] By 2007, she had attained the level of OT VII (Operating Thetan Level 7),^[40] and by 2018, she was New OT VIII.^[41][42] Alley said: "Scientology made me a lot stronger and tougher ... It's made me more honest and more willing to take responsibility for other people."^[17] Alley gave $5 million to the church in 2007.^[43]

Due to her commitment to the Church of Scientology, Alley decided not to reprise her role as Rebecca Howe on any episode of the Cheers spinoff Frasier, because the series was centered on the field of medical psychiatry, with different ideas than those of the Church; she was the only former Cheers regular not to do so.^[44]

Politics

Alley stated that in past presidential elections, she had backed both Democratic and Republican nominees, and independent Ross Perot in 1992, but decided not to vote in 1988 and 2004.^[45][46] In August 2015, Alley tweeted that she would not support Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, during the 2016 presidential election, and on April 8, 2016, she tweeted her support for Republicans Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani.^[47][48] On October 8, 2016, Alley retracted her endorsement of Trump, tweeting, "I hate this election and I'm officially no longer endorsing either candidate."^[49]

In October 2020, she stated she had indeed voted for Trump in 2016 and intended to vote for him again in 2020 because "he's NOT a politician."^[50]She also endorsed Republican John James in the 2020 U.S. Senate election in Michigan.^[51]

Alley was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in May 2022, following a doctor’s visit for a sore back. Despite chemotherapy treatments at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, she died at her home in Clearwater on December 5, 2022, at the age of 71.^{[52][53][54][55]}

Her ex-husband Parker Stevenson, her two children, Look Who's Talking co-star John Travolta,^[56] and other celebrities posted their condolences on social media.^[57] Her Cheers co-stars Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, and Rhea Perlman also released statements memorializing her.^[58]

Film

Television

Alley's work was honored by multiple associations throughout her career. For her role in the sitcom Cheers, she earned four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning once for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1991;^[74] and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991. She won an additional Emmy for her role in the television film, David's Mother (1994).^[13]

On November 10, 1995, Alley was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures.^[75]

• List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived June 16, 2021)
• Kirstie Alley at IMDb