Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley at the 1994 Emmy Awards.

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 car accident caused by a drunk driver in 1981. Alley 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 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 won two People's Choice Awards in the years 1991 and 1998.

Biography

Early life

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Kirstie Alley appearing as a contestant on Match Game in 1979.

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

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The Emmy-winning cast of Cheers with Alley second from the right in the middle row

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 in 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. 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 second NBC sitcom, the critically panned 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 me the big one for the last eight years." 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.

On November 7, 2006, Alley appeared in a bikini on The Oprah Winfrey Show after losing 75 lbs., showing off her new body and confidence to go with it.

It was announced in early February 2007 that Alley will play the lead in a new Fox network sitcom entitled The Minister of Divine, based upon the British show The Vicar of Dibley, which starred Dawn French and was first broadcast on the BBC in 1994.

Fat Actress

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Promotional photospread for 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 a November 7, 2006, appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She appeared clad in a semi-bikini outfit, with a fabric midriff and several yards of translucent chiffon to hide her back-view.

Private life

Kirstie Alley 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). She has continued her Scientology training and, as of 1999, had attained the level of OT VI (Operating Thetan level 6).

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 October 2005, the Church of Scientology again announced that Alley had completed another course, the PTS/SP course.

In 2006, Alley is reported to have said that she was not able to apply the Scientology techniques that helped her to kick her cocaine habit to her problem with food addiction and weight, and that ultimately she turned to Jenny Craig.

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role
1982	Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan	Lt. Saavik
1983	One More Chance	Sheila
1984	Champions	Barbara
	Blind Date
	Runaway	Jackie Rogers
1987	Summer School	Ms. Robin Bishop
1988	Shoot to Kill	Sarah Renell
1989	Look Who's Talking	Mollie
1990	Madhouse	Jessie Bannister
	Look Who's Talking Too	Mollie
	Sibling Rivalry	Marjorie Turner
1993	Look Who's Talking Now	Mollie Ubriacco
1994	David's Mother	Sally Goodson
1995	Village of the Damned	Dr. Susan Verner
	It Takes Two	Diane Barrows
1997	Deconstructing Harry	Joan
	For Richer or Poorer	Caroline Sexton
1999	Drop Dead Gorgeous	Gladys Leeman
2002	Back By Midnight	Gloria Beaumont

Television work

• Masquerade (1983)
• Sins of the Past (1984)
• A Bunny's Tale (1985)
• North and South (1985) (miniseries)
• Prince of Bel Air (1985)
• 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)
• For Richer or Poorer (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)
• The Minister Of Divine (2007)

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
• Kirstie Alley - Fab Actress
• Template:Tvtome person
• Unofficial List of Scientology courses completed by Kirstie Alley, site critical to Scientology