Actress Kirstie Alley passed away after a short battle with cancer, her family announced on Monday, Dec. 5. She was 71.
“She fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead,” said the statement on social media.
Her family, including her children, True and Lillie Parker, thanked doctors and nurses at the Tampa, Florida-based Moffitt Cancer Center.
Alley’s aggressive cancer was only recently diagnosed, according to the statement.
Alley was best known as Rebecca Howe in the TV sitcom Cheers.
Tributes are pouring in for Alley on social media. Actor John Travolta was among the first to pay tribute to her. They are pictured together at a Hollywood movie premiere in 2019.
Travolta and Alley starred as love interests in the 1989 comedy, “Look Who’s Talking” and the film’s sequel.
Actor, comedian Tim Allen remembered Alley in a tweet on Monday. “A sweet soul pass on in Kristie Alley. Sad, sad news. Prayers for all her family,” he wrote.
Allen starred alongside Alley in the 1997 comedy, “For Richer or Poorer.”
Actress Jamie Lynn Curtis described Alley as a “great comic foil in @tvscreamqueens and a beautiful mama bear in her very real life.”
Curtis said Alley helped her choose Christmas gifts for her family.
Alley was married to her high school sweetheart, Bob Alley, from 1970 to 1977. Coincidentally, he had the same last name as hers.
Following a miscarriage, Alley and second husband Parker Stevenson adopted week-old son William True Stevenson in 1992 and daughter Lillie in 1995. Alley and Parker divorced in 1997.
Alley became a grandmother in 2016 after her son William welcomed a son of his own
