Kirstie Alleywill always be remembered for making audiences laugh.
The actress, whodied from cancer at age 71, madea name for herself in Hollywoodwhen she starred as Rebecca Howe onCheers. For the breakout role, Alley won a Golden Globe for best actress and an Emmy for outstanding lead actress in 1991.
But that was only the start as Alley went on to portray dozens of iconic roles across film and television, including Sally Goodson in 1994’sDavid’s Mother,for which she earned her second Emmy win.
Here, PEOPLE takes a look back at her most memorable parts as the entertainment industry mourns her shocking death.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
One of Alley’s first roles came as Saavik in the 1982 filmStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in which she played opposite Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols.
Her big break came at a heartbreaking time, however. Not long before her final audition, she learned her mother had been killed and her father badly injured in a car crash in Kansas.
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According to PEOPLE, Paramount postponed her final audition while she returned home to join her siblings at the funeral. “It was the greatest tragedy of my life,” she shared, “and getting the role inStar Trekwas my happiest day.”
Cheers
Ted Danson and Kirstie Alley on Cheers.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty
She once told PEOPLE her first weeks on the set were “nerve-racking,” adding, “They had all created a great series and I didn’t particularly want to be the cause of its demise.”
She went on to be nominated for five Emmys and won one for outstanding lead actress in 1991. She remained on the show through the final episode of the Boston-based series in 1993.
Summer School
Kirstie Alley in Summer School.Paramount Pictures/ Courtesy Everett Collection
Alley portrayed Robin Bishop, a high school history teacher, in the 1987 Carl Reiner-directed comedy. She starred alongside Mark Harmon, who played a gym teacher, and Courtney Thorne-Smith, an underachieving student.
Look Who’s Talking
John Travolta and Kirstie Alley in the filmLook Who’s Talking.TriStar Pictures/Getty
The 1989 filmLook Who’s Talkingbrought together Alley and one of her lifelong friends:John Travolta.
In a 2018 podcast interview,she shared that she fell in love with the actor in the late ’80s, but decided not to start a sexual relationship with him because she was married to Parker Stevenson at the time.
“I will say it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, the hardest decision I’ve ever made because I was madly in love with him — we were fun and funny together,” Alley said. “It wasn’t a sexual relationship because I’m not going to cheat on my husband. But, you know, I think there are things that are way worse than sexual relationships, than cheating on someone that way. I consider what I did even worse because I actually let myself fall in love with him and stay in love with him for a long time.”
It Takes Two
Kirstie Alley and Steve Guttenberg.Courtesy: Everett Collection
Alley starred alongside Steve Guttenberg andMary-Kate and Ashley Olsenin the 1995 comedy. Alley played Diane Barrows, a social worker who would like to adopt orphan Amanda (Mary-Kate).
Amanda later meets a girl named Alyssa (Ashley), who looks nearly identical to her, and the pair decide to swap places.
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Alley took on the role of Gladys Leeman in this 1999 comedy. Her costars included Ellen Barkin, Kirsten Dunst, Allison Janney,Denise Richards, Brittany Murphy, and Amy Adams.
The mockumentary followed Mount Rose as it prepared for its annual beauty pageant. Gladys was the head of the pageant organizing committee and a former winner herself.
Veronica’s Closet
Kirstie Alley in Veronica’s Closet.Getty
Alley portrayed Veronica “Ronnie” Chase, the owner of Veronica’s Closet, a lingerie and book company which helped keep romance alive, on the NBC series from 1997 to 2000.
On the show, Veronica leaves her husband and finds support from her top executive Olive (Kathy Najimy), assistant Josh (Wallace Langham), and publicist Perry (Dan Cortese).
At the time,Entertainment Weeklysaid it “gives us the Kirstie Alley we’ve been wanting — trash-talking and in charge, a strong, mature woman who’s both vulnerable to men’s charms and sick of their lives.”
Kirstie
The show followed Tony Award-winning actress Madison “Maddie” Banks (Alley) as she builds a relationship with Arlo (Eric Petersen), her son who reappears after she gave him up at birth.
Fat Actress
Kirstie Alley.Showtime/Kobal/Shutterstock
Alley starred as herself on the largely unscripted Showtime series, which aired for one season in 2015.
The show chronicled a version of the star who was struggling to lose weight — as she had in real life — and revive her acting career.
Scream Queens
Kirstie Alley and Jamie Lee Curtis on ‘Scream Queens’.FOX/Getty
Alley played hospital administrator Ingrid Marie Hoffel on the second season ofScream Queens.
“My agent told me that Ryan Murphy wanted me forScream Queens, so I called my friend John Travolta because he had just worked with Ryan on [The People v. O.J. Simpson],” Alley toldEntertainment Tonightoffinding out about the roleon the Fox series.
“And John said, ‘Oh my god! You will love him, you will worship him and he is going to love you!” she added. “So then when Ryan called I was very flattered and I was excited and here I am.”
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Kirstie Alley on Cheers.Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty
Alley’s children, True and Lillie Parker, announcedtheir “incredible, fierce and loving mother” had diedfrom cancer on Dec. 5. In a statement to PEOPLE, True and Lillie confirmed that Alley died on Monday.
source: people.com
