CNN
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Actress Kirstie Alley, the big-screen and small-screen star best known for her Emmy-winning role on Cheers and films like Watch Who’s Talking, has died after a brief battle with cancer, her children True and Lilly have announced. Parker. social media.

she was 71

“We are sad to inform you that our incredible, ferocious and loving mother has passed away after battling a recent cancer,” the statement said.

“She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with confidence in her endless joy in life and whatever adventures lie ahead,” the family said in a statement. “As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”

“Our mother’s cheerfulness and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many animals, not to mention her eternal joy of creativity, was unsurpassed and inspires us to live life to the fullest, just like her,” the statement said.

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HLN
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Sexy image of Kirstie Alley in the TV series “DWTS”

A rep for Alley confirmed to CNN via email on Tuesday that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer before she died.

Two-time Emmy Award winner Ellie was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1951.

After a prominent role in 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, she had roles in films such as 1984’s Blind Date and 1987’s Summer School with Mark Harmon.

That same year, Ellie followed Shelley Long to star alongside Ted Danson in the final installment of the classic television series Cheers, which premiered in 1982. Ellie first appeared in 1987 playing strong and independent bar manager Rebecca Howe, remaining a famous show until it ended in 1993.

After receiving a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991 for Cheers and another for Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special for David’s Mother in 1994, she again found success on television in late 90s with the TV series Veronica’s Closet. which earned her another Emmy nod.

In addition, Ellie starred in a number of memorable films such as Look Who’s Talking, The Madhouse in the 1990s, and Terrible Beauty in 1999 with Ellen Barkin.

In 2005, Ellie co-wrote and starred in the Showtime comedy The Fat Actress before moving on to reality shows.

She appeared on Kirstie Alley’s Big Life in 2010, was a contestant on season 12 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars the following year, and was a runner-up on season 22 of the British version of Celebrity Big Brother in 2018. In 2022, she participated in season 7 of the Fox series The Masked Singer.

Although she had an impressive body of work, the later part of her career was marked by Ellie’s penchant for controversy. especially through social media.

In a 2007 interview, Ellie said she takes pride in her unhindered demeanor.

“I always felt that if someone asks me something, they need a real answer,” Ellie told Good Housekeeping. “I think there’s something more to the fact that I’m from Kansas. Usually people think I’m from New York. The only similarity between New Yorkers and Midwesterners is that you see what you get.”

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CNN
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Kirstie Alley looks back on her Cheers (2005) years

John Travolta, who starred opposite Ellie in the 1989 hit Look Who’s Talking and two sequels, wrote on Instagram on Monday: “Kirsty had one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirsty. I know we’ll see each other again.”

Jamie Lee Curtis, who worked with Ellie in 2016 on episodes of the television series Scream Queens, shared a statement on Facebook to pay tribute to the late actress, writing: “She was a great comedian on @tvscreamqueens and a beautiful mama bear in her very real life.” . That year, she helped me buy overalls for my family for Christmas. We agreed to disagree on some things, but we had a mutual respect and connection. Sad news.”

Josh Gad tweeted: “My heart breaks for Kirsty and her family. Was it her magnificence in Cheers; or her snazzy performance in the Look Who’s Talking franchise, her smile has always been infectious, her laugh has always been infectious, and her charisma has always been iconic. TEAR.”

This was told by Ellie’s colleague on the TV series “Cheers” Ted Danson. deadline he had just been watching Ellie on an episode of the show while on a plane before learning of her death.

“Today I was on a plane and did something that I rarely do. I watched the old episode of “Cheers,” Danson told the portal. “It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirsty, who keeps saying no even though she desperately wants to say yes. Kirsty was really brilliant at this. Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both touching and hysterically funny.”

“She made me laugh 30 years ago when she filmed this scene, and today she made me laugh just as much. When I got off the plane, I heard that Kirsty had died. I’m so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh,” Danson added. “I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I want to skip here.

Another Cheers star, Rhea Perlman, told CNN in a statement that she and Ellie immediately became friends on the set of Cheers.

“Kirsty was a unique and wonderful person and friend. Her joy is boundless,” Perlman said. “We became friends almost immediately when she joined the cast of Cheers. She loved children and my children loved her too. We had sleepovers at her house, with treasure hunts she came up with. She hosted massive Halloween and Easter parties and invited the entire crew of the show and their families. She wanted everyone to feel involved. She loved her children very much. I’ve never met anyone even remotely like her. I’m so grateful that I knew her. I will miss her very, very much.”

Baywatch actor Parker Stevenson, who was married to Ellie from 1983 to 1997 and is the father of her two children, also paid tribute to her on social media. In an Instagram post, which a rep for the actor confirmed to be Stevenson’s, he wrote: “Kirsty, I’m so grateful for the years we’ve spent together and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren we have. You will be missed.”

The number one question when someone in Hollywood says they’re done is, “Are you sure?” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently returned to Fast and Furious Clint Eastwood has appeared in four films since then. Gran Torinoand Michael Keaton put on the tight Batsuit again for Flash. You can threaten retirement, sure, but you just can’t stay away. So when Harrison Ford announced that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Doom would have been his last appearance as the old Indy, Hollywood would have to ask, “Are you sure about that?”