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Kirstie Louise Alley (born January 12, 1951 in Wichita, Kansas) is an American actress best known for her role in the TV show Cheers. Her parents are Robert Deal Alley and Lillian Mickie, who have two other children, Colette and Craig. Her mother, Lillian, died in a tragic car accident caused by a drunk driver in 1981. She married film director Parker Stevenson in 1983, whom she later divorced, and now shares joint custody of their two adopted children.

Alley is widely known and acclaimed for her leading roles in the comedy Cheers, where she played Rebecca Howe from 1987-1993, winning an Emmy as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for 1991. A year later, she won a Golden Globe for her performance in Cheers as well. She also won an Emmy in 1994 for her role in the TV-drama David's Mother. Other critically acclaimed roles Alley is known for include: playing Diane Barrows in It Takes Two and a single mother in Look Who's Talking, Look Who's Talking Too, and Look Who's Talking Now (all co-starring John Travolta). Alley has also won two People's Choice Awards in the years 1991 and 1998.

Biography

Early life

Alley was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, where she attended Wichita Southeast High School and became a cheerleader. She then attended college at Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, but dropped out in her sophomore year to pursue acting. She was first seen as a contestant on the game shows Match Game in 1979 and Password Plus in 1980. On both shows she stated her occupation as an interior designer.

Career

Alley won a supporting role in the 1982 movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, playing Vulcan officer Lieutenant Saavik. Alley turned down the role of Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock because the producers would not meet her salary demands and because she didn't want to be typecast as a science fiction actress. Therefore, Robin Curtis assumed the role. Alley also co-starred in a short-lived secret agent television series, Masquerade and the acclaimed miniseries North and South.

Alley rose to prominence in her 1987–1993 role as the neurotic corporate executive Rebecca Howe on the long-running hit TV sitcom Cheers, replacing Shelley Long. She later starred in the movie Look Who's Talking (1989) with fellow Scientologist John Travolta, which earned more than $100 million at the box office. This film was followed by two sequels — 1990's Look Who's Talking Too and 1993's Look Who's Talking Now. In 1992, she played a TV news reporter in Prince's video for "My Name Is Prince".

Her NBC sitcom, the critically reviled Veronica's Closet ran for three seasons in the late 1990s. Alley reportedly received $2 million in up-front fees for her work on that series and $150,000 per episode.

Alley has been honored with 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 for giving her "the big one." Talk show hosts, as well as the creators of Cheers, poked fun at the quip for weeks afterward. Alley won her second Emmy for her portrayal of the title role in the made-for-TV movie drama David's Mother (1994).

In 1997, Alley's career took a different turn when she appeared in Woody Allen's movie Deconstructing Harry. In this movie, Alley, who was then primarily known as a comedic actress, displayed a strong talent for being a serious dramatic actress by playing a psychiatrist who is married to Woody Allen's character. She is angered upon learning that he has had an affair with one of her patients.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Kirstie Alley has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd.

Fat Actress

In 2005, after her weight increased to over 200 lbs., she headlined a sitcom for Showtime called Fat Actress. The show details the daily life of an overweight actress trying to make it in Hollywood. Alley has become an advocate against obesity and is a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program; TV ads document her weight loss, which has reached 75 lbs., according to Alley on an early November 2005 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Private life

Kirstie Alley was married to Bob Alley from 1974–77; she met him as a student at Kansas State University. She was married to actor Parker Stevenson (Richard Stevenson Parker, Jr.) from December 22, 1983, until 1997. During their marriage, the couple adopted two children — William True (born October 5th,1992) and Lillie Price (born June 15, 1994). Alley also experienced a miscarriage as well as a stillbirth. According to media reports at the time of the couple's divorce, Stevenson walked away from the marriage with a healthy $6,000,000 (USD) settlement, after asking for $75,000 per month in alimony from Alley. At the time of their split, Alley and Stevenson were joint owners of a mansion in Encino, California, complete with exotic animals, plus vacation homes in Islesboro, Maine, and in Kansas. She also has a ranch in the Applegate Valley of Jackson County, Oregon. The couple owned two yachts and several high-performance cars. Today, they share joint custody of their children.

I don't believe in walking on eggshells around children. I don't want them to have a static, middle-class life. I want them to experience a real life, not some pretentious existence

Alley was raised Methodist but is now a Scientologist, like her good friends John Travolta and Kelly Preston.

Kirstie is dedicated to and a strong activist for V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women.

Alley and Scientology

Alley admits to having had a cocaine addiction from 1976 until 1979, when she joined Scientology. She has served as the national spokesperson for Narconon (a controversial Scientology-affiliated drug treatment program), although she remained silent in 2004 when Narconon was banned from the Los Angeles and San Francisco Unified School Districts for presenting factually inaccurate information about drugs .

In May 2000, she purchased the former home of fellow Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley, a 5,200-sq-ft. waterfront mansion in Clearwater, Florida for $1.5 million. Clearwater is the spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology.

In 2006, Alley expressed some disenchantment with Scientology, noting that it was of no help in her attempts to lose weight, and that ultimately she turned to Jenny Craig.

Selected filmography

Television work

• Masquerade (1983)
• Sins of the Past (1984)
• A Bunny's Tale (1985)
• North and South (1985) (miniseries)
• Prince of Bel Air (1986)
• North and South II (1986) (miniseries)
• Stark: Mirror Image (1986)
• Infidelity (1987)
• Cheers (cast member from 1987 - 1993)
• David's Mother (1994)
• Peter and the Wolf (1996)
• Radiant City (1996)
• Suddenly (1996) (also executive producer)
• The Last Don (1997) (miniseries)
• Veronica's Closet (1997 - 2000) (also producer)
• Toothless (1997)
• The Last Don II (1998) (miniseries)
• Blonde (2001) (miniseries)
• Salem Witch Trials (2002) (miniseries)
• Profoundly Normal (2003) (also executive producer)
• Family Sins (2004)
• While I Was Gone (2004)
• Fat Actress (2005)

Books

• How To Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life, Rodale 2005, ISBN 1-59486-232-X

External links

• Kirstie Alley at IMDb
• Kirstie Alley at Memory Alpha

• American film actors
• Star Trek film actors
• American television actors
• Cheers actors
• Emmy Award winners
• American game show contestants
• Hollywood Walk of Fame
• American Scientologists
• People from Kansas
• People from Wichita, Kansas
• People from Medford, Oregon
• Game show contestants
• 1951 births
• Living people
• List of people with eating disorders