Emmy Winning actress,Kirstie Alley dead at 71

Actress, Kirstie Alley known for 80’s sitcom, Cheers is dead. She was 71.

Her family shared in a statement:”We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered” her children, True and Lillie Parker, said in a statement posted on social media.

“As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother,”

She joined the cast of “Cheers” in 1987 after Shelley Long, who played Diane Chambers, left the show following its fifth season. For her role as Rebecca Howe, Alley received four Golden Globe and five Emmy nominations for best actress, winning both in 1991. She remained a regular cast member of “Cheers” until the show’s 11th and final season in 1993.

She also appeared  in 1982’s “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan,”

Her “Cheers” co-star  Ted Danson paid her a tribute, writing;

“I was on a plane today and did something I rarely do. I watched an old episode of ‘Cheers.’ It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie, who keeps saying no, even though she desperately wants to say yes. Kirstie was truly brilliant in it. Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both moving and hysterically funny. She made me laugh 30 years ago when she shot that scene, and she made me laugh today just as hard. As I got off the plane, I heard that Kirstie had died. I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh. I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her.”

The actress also  starred in the 1989 romantic comedy, “Look Who’s Talking,” and its sequels, “Look Who’s Talking Too” and “Look Who’s Talking Now.” alongside John Travolta who remembered her with a tribute on Instagram,writing, “Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had.”

“I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”

We also know her from her role in “Scream Queens” alongside Jamie Lynn Curtis.

Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas, married twice, first to her high school sweetheart from 1970 to 1977, and then to actor Parker Stevenson from 1983 until 1997, with whom she adopted her two children.

May her soul rest in peace.