Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Louise Alley was an American actress best known for her breakthrough television role as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom Cheers, for which she earned both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She also starred in films such as Look Who's Talking and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and was featured in television series including Veronica's Closet and Kirstie.

Born in Wichita, Kansas, on January 12, 1951, Alley attended Wichita Southeast High School before pursuing higher education at Kansas State University. After leaving college following her sophomore year, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as an interior designer and made game show appearances on Match Game and Password Plus.

Alley made her film debut in 1982 playing Lieutenant Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in television programs like Masquerade and North and South, as well as feature films including Summer School, Shoot to Kill, and Blind Date. In 1987, she joined Cheers, remaining with the cast until the show concluded in 1993.

Following her breakthrough, Alley starred alongside John Travolta in the box office success Look Who's Talking (1989) and its two sequels, Look Who's Talking Too (1990) and Look Who's Talking Now (1993). Her film career during the 1990s also included Madhouse, Sibling Rivalry, Village of the Damned, It Takes Two, Deconstructing Harry, For Richer or Poorer, and Drop Dead Gorgeous. In 1994, she won her second Emmy Award for the television movie David's Mother.

From 1997 to 2000, Alley served as an executive producer and title character on the sitcom Veronica's Closet, receiving additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. She later created and starred in Showtime's Fat Actress in 2005, played the lead role in TV Land's Kirstie in 2013, and joined the cast of Scream Queens in 2016. She also served as a commercial spokesperson for Pier 1 Imports and Jenny Craig.

In addition to acting, Alley participated in various television programs. She starred in her own reality series, Kirstie Alley's Big Life, competed on seasons 12 and 15 of Dancing with the Stars, appeared on the British series Celebrity Big Brother, and participated in The Masked Singer. She also returned to Match Game in 2019 as a celebrity panelist.

Alley was married twice, first to her high school sweetheart Robert Alley and later to actor Parker Stevenson, with whom she adopted two children. A long-time member of the Church of Scientology, she was active in commercial ventures and real estate acquisitions across the United States. Alley died of colon cancer on December 5, 2022, at the age of 71.