Kirstie Alley

Early life and education

Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas, on January 12, 1951, She had two siblings, Colette and Craig.

Alley attended Wichita Southeast High School, where she graduated in 1969. Alley attended college at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, where she dropped out after completing her sophomore year.

Career

After leaving Kansas State, Alley moved to Los Angeles to pursue Scientology and work as an interior designer. In 1979, she appeared as a contestant on the game show Match Game, winning both her games and went on to win $500 in her first Super Match and $5,500 in her second. In 1980, Alley appeared on the game show Password Plus. On both game shows, she described her profession as interior designer. In 1981, an automobile crash involving a drunk driver killed Alley's mother and left her father seriously injured.

In 1982, Alley made her film debut in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in the role of the Vulcan Starfleet officer Lieutenant Saavik. 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.

From 1983 to 1984, Alley was a regular on the ABC television series Masquerade. In the years following, Alley starred in a number of smaller films, including One More Chance, Blind Date and Runaway.

In 1985, Alley starred in the ABC miniseries North and South, and also portrayed feminist icon Gloria Steinem in the television movie A Bunny's Tale. 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. She followed up with roles in films such as Shoot to Kill (1988), Madhouse (1990), and Sibling Rivalry (1990).

In 1987, Alley joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Cheers, where she played Rebecca Howe. She replaced Shelley Long. Alley remained with the show for six years until its eleventh and final season, and earned an Emmy Award and Golden Globe.

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 (1990) and Look Who's Talking Now (1993). After two Emmy Award nominations for her work on Cheers, in 1988 and 1990, Alley won the Emmy on her third nomination, in 1991.

Alley earned her second Emmy for the 1994 television film David's Mother. 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. Her later films included Village of the Damned (1995), It Takes Two (1995), Deconstructing Harry (1997), For Richer or Poorer (1997), and Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999).

From 1997 to 2000, Alley played the title character and was executive producer in the NBC sitcom Veronica's Closet, where she earned another Emmy and Golden Globe nomination. From 2000 to 2004, she served as a commercial spokesperson for Pier 1 Imports, and for Jenny Craig from 2004 to 2007. In 2005, Alley played a fictionalized version of herself on the show Fat Actress. In 2010, she was in the reality show Kirstie Alley's Big Life. From 2011 to 2012, Alley appeared as a contestant on seasons 12 and 15 of Dancing with the Stars, partnering with Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Beginning in December 2013, TV Land aired a sitcom that centered on Alley as Broadway star Madison "Maddie" Banks, who reconnects with her adult son whom 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 ran for five months.

In 2018, Alley appeared on season 22 of the British series Celebrity Big Brother; she finished in second place.

In 2019, Alley returned to the game show Match Game, where she was a contestant in 1979, this time as a celebrity panel. Host Alec Baldwin surprised Alley with a clip from the original series. This made her only the second former contestant to return as a panelist. (The first was actress Brianne Leary, who was a contestant in 1976 and a panelist in 1979.)

In 2022, Alley competed in season seven of The Masked Singer as "Baby Mammoth" of Team Cuddly.

Personal life

Alley was married from 1971 to 1977 to her high school sweetheart Robert "Bob" Alley, who coincidentally had the same name as her father. Alley married actor Parker Stevenson on December 22, 1983. After a miscarriage, the couple adopted their first child, a son, William True in October 1992, and in 1995, they adopted their second child, a daughter, Lillie. The marriage ended in 1997.

In 1988 and 2000 respectively, Alley purchased estates in Jacksonville, Oregon, and Clearwater, Florida, retaining ownership of both properties until her death in 2022. 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.

Body image

On The Dr. Oz Show on September 17, 2012, Alley said that 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 reaching early menopause in 1992.

While working as a Jenny Craig spokesperson from 2004 to 2007, Alley lost 75 lb, bringing her weight down to 145 lb. In May 2009, Alley told People magazine that, after parting ways with Craig, she gained 83 lb and weighed as much as 228 lb.

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 show. In September 2011, Alley announced that she had lost 100 lb using weight loss products from Organic Liaison. In 2012, Alley 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. Alley 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.

In April 2014, Alley resumed a role as a spokeswoman 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.

Scientology

Alley was raised as a Methodist; she became a member of the Church of Scientology in 1979. Alley said that until she became a Scientologist, she was addicted to cocaine but then went through Narconon, a Scientology-affiliated drug treatment program to end her addiction. By 2007, Alley attained the level of OT VII (Operating Thetan Level 7), and by 2018, she was New OT VIII. In January 2008, 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." Alley gave $5 million to the church in 2007.

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 from those of the Church; Alley was the only former Cheers regular not to do so.

Politics

Alley said she supported both Democratic and Republican presidential nominees and independent Ross Perot in 1992, but decided not to vote in 1988 and 2004. 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, Alley tweeted her support for Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani. On October 8, 2016, Alley retracted her endorsement of Trump, tweeting, "I hate this election and I'm officially no longer endorsing either candidate."

In October 2020, after saying that she voted for Trump four years ago, Alley intended to vote for him again in 2020 because "he's NOT a politician." She also endorsed Republican John James in the 2020 U.S. Senate election in Michigan.

Death

In May 2022, Alley was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, following a doctor’s visit for a sore back. She subsequently underwent chemotherapy at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, where she died on December 5 at age 71.

Several celebrities posted tributes to Alley on social media or released memorial statements, including Alley's ex-husband Parker Stevenson, her two children, her Look Who's Talking co-star John Travolta, and her Cheers co-stars Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, and Rhea Perlman.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

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; 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).

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

References

References

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    McGovern D (LOST)
    Carter D (W)
    Reagan R (W)
    Reagan R (W)
    Clinton D (W)
    Clinton D (W)
    W Busch [sic] R (W)
    Obama D (W)
    Obama D (W)
    Trump (W)
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