Kirstie Alley

The Woman Who Survived Shelley Long

Kirstie Alley landed on the set of Cheers in 1987, carrying the weight of an industry that didn't believe in her. Audiences adored Shelley Long, and the trade press predicted the end of the sitcom after the departure of its female star. But Alley didn't try to imitate anyone. Rebecca Howe was a neurotic, vulnerable executive who cried in corners while trying to keep her composure in a Boston bar.

That comedic vulnerability saved the series.

She won an Emmy in 1991 and became the highest-paid actress on American television. She earned more than $150,000 per episode at a time when figures like that were reserved exclusively for the biggest names on the big screen. Because Alley understood that her character had to be a disaster for audiences to forget the earlier romance between Sam and Diane.

Before this success, she had already made a name for herself in mainstream film. In 1982, she played Lieutenant Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It was her professional debut after years working as an interior decorator in Kansas. Many fans of the franchise still lament that she didn't return for the following installments due to salary negotiations that ended in a dead end.

The Talking Baby Hit

Film came calling in a big way at the end of the decade. In 1989, she starred in Look Who's Talking alongside John Travolta. Nobody in Hollywood's studio offices expected that a comedy about a baby who thinks in the voice of Bruce Willis would gross 297 million dollars worldwide. The success was so massive that it spawned two sequels and established her as a safe bet for family box office.

And the phone wouldn't stop ringing.

But her film career never quite took off toward drama or auteur cinema. She got stuck in lightweight comedy and in products designed for quick consumption. In 1995, she starred in It Takes Two alongside the Olsen twins, and in 1997 she appeared in Dr. Dolittle under the direction of Woody Allen. It was one of the few times critics took her seriously as a character actress.

Her run on the series El secreto de Verónica between 1997 and 2000 was her last major network TV contract. The show did well in its first seasons, but the wear and tear of the format eventually sank its ratings. Alley then began looking for refuge in less friendly places.

Weight Gain, Magazine Covers and a Tonal Misstep

The industry began to turn its back on her when her body changed and the tabloids went after her weight gain. Alley then decided to cash in on her own crisis with the series Fat Actress in 2005. It was a cruel satire about how the system treats women who exceed size 38. But the experiment didn't last long, and only seven episodes were filmed.

Years later, she turned permanently to reality TV.

She took part in the American version of Dancing with the Stars in 2011 and finished in second place. Her close ties to Scientology and her political opinions on social media distanced her from the major studios' circle of trust. In 2022, she died after a brief battle with colon cancer that was only officially diagnosed weeks before her death.

Her children announced her death through a brief, terse statement in December 2022.