Kirstie Alley was one of the most talented actresses, active on the film and television screen from 1978 to 2022. During her long career, spanning more than four decades, she graced several movies and television shows with her presence. Sadly, she died of colon cancer at the age of 71. But she left us with a lot to learn. Let us explore the glorious Kirstie Alley net worth, career, personal life, and more.
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Kirstie Alley bio
Kirstie Alley was a popular American actress working in films and television. She is known for essaying Rebecca Howe in Cheers and Veronica Chase in Veronica’s Closet. She also appeared in many movies, including Summer School (1987), Madhouse (1990), It Takes Two (1995), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), etc.
Apart from films and television shows, she also participated in reality TV shows, such as Dancing with the Stars (2011-2012) and Celebrity Big Brother (2018).
A talented actress, Kirstie received several awards, from the Golden Globe to Emmy Award, for her phenomenal work. Unfortunately, we lost her to cancer in the previous December.
| Name | Kirstie Louise Alley |
| Profession | Actress |
| Age | 71 |
| Height | 5 feet 7 inches (1.71 m or 171 cm) |
| Birthplace | Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
| Education | Wichita Southeast High School Kansas State University (dropped out) |
| DOB | January 12, 1951 |
| Zodiac Sign | Capricorn |
| Years Active | 1978- 2022 |
| Spouse | Bob Alley (m. 1971, div. 1977 Parker Stevenson (m. 1983, div. 1997) |
| Parents | Robert Alley and Lillian Alley |
| Children | 2 |
| 288k |
Early life
Kirstie was born Kirstie Louise Alley on January 12, 1951, in Wichita, Kansas, U.S. Her father, Robert Alley, had a lumber company. Her mother was Lillian Alley. She grew up along with her siblings.
Her father and mother met with an accident in 1981. She lost her mother in the crash, while her father received severe injuries.
Education
Kirstie went to Wichita Southeast High School and graduated in 1969. After her graduation, she went to Kansas State University to receive higher education, but after her second year, she dropped out.
She then moved to LA to study Scientology. Before becoming an actress, Kirstie started her career as an interior designer.
Career
Kirstie Alley films
Kirstie started her career as an actress in 1982 with Star Trek II; The Wrath of Khan. She played Lieutenant Saavik. She gathered a lot of love and appreciation for her portrayal and accumulated many fans. The following year, she appeared in One More Chance.
In 1984, Kirstie did three movies- Champions, Blind Date, and Runaway. She essayed the role of Ms. Robin Elizabeth Bishop in Summer School (1987). The movie broke the box office, earning more than $35 million alone in the USA.
From 1988 to 1999, she appeared in several movies, including Shoot to Kill (1988), Loverboy (1989), Look Who’s Talking (1989), Sibling Rivalry (1990), Village of the Damned (1995), It Takes Two (1995), Sticks & Stones (1996), Deconstructing Harry (1997), The Mao Game (1999) and Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999).
Her 1989 hit Look Who’s Talking, opposite John Travolta, pushed her film career several notches higher. The movie made around $295 million. She later appeared in Look Who’s Talking Too (1990) and Look Who’s Talking Now (1993).
She co-produced the film Nevada, which released in 1997. Her most recent work in movies dates back to 2015. Her last movie was Accidental Love, in which she reprised the role of Aunt Rita.
Kirstie Alley tv shows
Kirstie was counted among the top actresses on television. She registered her magical presence on countless sitcoms and television films.
The first time she appeared on television was on Quark. She played an uncredited role of a handmaiden in the show. In 1978, she appeared on three episodes of Match Game, where she played herself. The following year, Alley did a television film, Highway Honeys, and appeared on an episode of The Love Boat.
From 1983 to 1984, Kirstie appeared on Masquerade, which aired on ABC television. The following year, she appeared in North and South, an ABC miniseries, and A Bunny’s Tale, a television movie.
In 1987, she replaced Shelley Long on Cheers and essayed the role of Rebecca Howe for six long years. It was her breakthrough role on television, which got her several prestigious awards and nominations.
Her stint as Veronica Chase from 1997 to 2000 is also counted among her best performances.
List of shows
Later, she appeared in several television films, including
- Infidelity (1987)
- Mickey’s 60th Birthday (1988)
- Masquerade (1990)
- David’s Mother (1994)
- Peter and the Wolf (1995)
- Radiant City (1996)
- Suddenly (1996)
- Toothless (1997)
- Salem Witch Trials (2003)
- Profoundly Normal (2003)
- Family Sins (2004)
- While I Was Gone (2004)
- The Minister of Divine (2007)
- Write & Wrong (2007)
- The Manzanis (2012)
- Baby Sellers (2013)
- You Can’t Take My Daughter (2020).
She also appeared in several miniseries, including
- The Last Don (1997)
- The Last Don II (1998)
- Blonde (2001)
Her appearances on reality television series include,
- IMPPP Kirstie Alley’s Big Life (2010)
- Dancing with the Stars (2011-12)
- Celebrity Big Brother 22 (2018)
- The Masked Singer (2022)
Apart from all these, she also appeared on-
- Saturday Night Live (1991-93)
- Flesh ‘n’ Blood (1991)
- Wings (1993)
- Ink (1997)
- Dharma & Greg (2001)
- Without a Trace (2004)
- Fat Actress (2005)
- The King of Queens (2006)
- The Hills (2008)
- Kirstie (2013-2014)
- Hot in Cleveland (2013-2014)
- The Middle (2015) one episode
- Flaked (2016)
- Scream Queens (2016)
- The Goldbergs (2019)
Awards and rewards
- Kirstie won a Golden Globe Award, a People’s Choice Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award for her sitcom, Cheers.
- In 1994, she received her second Emmy award for Sally Goodson in the television film David’s Mother.
- She won a People’s Choice Award for Veronica’s Closet.
- In 1995, she bagged a motion pictures star at the 7000 Hollywood Boulevard’s Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Kirstie was nominated for several awards throughout her career, including American Comedy Awards, American Television Awards, Bravo Otto Awards, CableACE Awards, Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Award, Satellite Awards, Saturn Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, and Viewers for Quality Television Awards.
Kirstie Alley net worth
Kirstie Alley had a successful career as a film and television actress. Several of her movies and television shows grossed millions, making her one of the richest actresses.
Kirstie Alley 2022 net worth, her net worth at the time of her death, is estimated to be $40 million.
Real estate
In 1988, Kirstie bought a property in Jacksonville, Oregon. In 2000, she purchased a mansion in Clearwater for $1.5 million. This mansion belonged to former Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley. She owned both these properties until she died in 2022.
In 2000, Alley also purchased a large, 8,800-square-foot mansion in LA. This property cost her a whopping $2.988 million. Later, she listed it for sale in November 2018 for $11.97 million and sold it for $7.8 million in April 2021.
Apart from these properties, she also owned a cottage, Mitchell Cottage, on Islesboro Island, Maine. She lived there with her then-husband, Parker Stevenson. It was a large, 21-room mansion.
In 2003, she bought a waterfront home for $1.5 million and retained it until mid-2020.
Personal life
Kirstie Alley tied the knot with her high-school lover, Bob Alley, in 1971. The couple remained married till 1977 and then divorced.
She found love again in Parker Stevenson, the famous actor. The couple married on 22 December 1983. Unfortunately, Kirstie had a miscarriage. Later, they adopted two kids- a son, William (1992), and a daughter, Lillie (1995).
The couple parted ways in 1997. As per reports, Alley paid a settlement of $6 million to Stevenson at the time of their divorce.
Social media presence
Kirstie Alley was active on social media. She had an Instagram account with around 288k followers.
Alley was also active on Twitter. She joined the micro-blogging site in April 2009 and had 1.5 million followers there.
Here are the details about her social media accounts.
| Social Media Platform | Social Media Handle | Followers/ Subscribers |
|---|---|---|
| @kirstiealley | 288k | |
| @kirstiealley | 1.5 Million |
Involvement in the Church of Scientology
In 1979, she became a Church of Scientology member and underwent a program, Narconon, to end her drug addiction. In 2007, she became OT VII (attained Operating Thetan Level 7) and in 2018, she attained OT VIII. Again, in 2007, she donated $5 million to the church.
Kirstie turned down the role of Rebecca Howe on the Cheers spinoff series Frasier. The series revolved around psychiatry and portrayed ideas in stark contrast to the ideas of the Church regarding medical psychiatry. It spoke a lot about her dedication and devotion to the Church of Scientology.
Body image issues
Throughout her life, Kirstie Alley was a part of controversies. Most of her controversies were due to her religious and political positions.
On September 17, 2012, Kirstie mentioned on The Dr. Oz Show she started to put on weight in 2003. From 2004 to 2007, she lost 75 pounds while she worked as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. She was 145 pounds after her weight loss. But after she stopped working for Jenny Craig, Kirstie again gained weight. She reached 228 pounds after gaining 83 pounds.
Kirstie denied all the allegations of links between the Church of Scientology and the Organic Liaison weight-loss system. The allegations were slapped by Roger Friedman, a gossip blogger, in March 2010.
In September 2011, she disclosed that she lost a hundred pounds through Organic Liaison’s weight loss products.
In 2012, a class-action lawsuit was filed against her, claiming that she lost weight due to exercise and dance training (she was training for “Dancing with the Stars”) and not through Organic Liaison weight-loss products.
Kirstie settled this suit against false advertising in 2013 for $130,000. She also removed “Proven Products” from the packaging and issued a disclaimer, stating it’s a “calorie-based weight-loss product” on the official website of the brand.
In April 2014, Kirstie again embraced the duties as Jenny Craig’s spokesperson. In January 2015, she mentioned that she had shed 50 pounds after beginning the Jenny Craig program for weight loss.
Death
In May 2022, after visiting a doctor for a sore back, Kirstie came to know that she was suffering from stage 4 colon cancer. She underwent chemotherapy at Tampa, Florida’s Moffitt Cancer Center. She lost the battle with cancer on December 5, 2022, and passed away at her Clearwater residence at the age of 71.
Interesting facts about Kirstie Alley
- In 1979, Kirstie participated in the game show Match Game. She won both the games, ending up with $500 in the first super match and $5,500 in the second match.
- In 1980, she participated in Password Plus.
- Kirstie also appeared in a music video, My Name Is Prince, in 1992.
Final thoughts
Kirstie Alley was one of the finest actresses. She witnessed many highs and lows in her personal life but remained a shining star on the professional front.
Although she parted ways from this world very soon, she will always live through her work.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Who was Kirstie Alley?
Kirstie Alley was a famous American film and television actress.
2. What was the net worth Kirstie Alley at the time of her death?
Kirstie Alley net worth at the time of her death in 2022 was estimated to be $40 million.
3. Who are Kirstie Alley’s children?
Kirstie Alley adopted two children, a son William and a daughter Lillie, with her then-husband Parker Stevenson.
4. What was Kirstie Alley’s height?
Kirstie Alley was 5 feet 7 inches (1.71 m or 171 cm) tall.
5. How did Kirstie Alley die?
Kirstie Alley died of colon cancer on December 5, 2022.
