Kirstie Alley, star of Cheers and Veronica's Closet, has died from cancer. She was 71.
Alley's death was announced by her family on Twitter.
"She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead," said her family. "As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother."
Born in 1951 in Wichita, Kansas, Alley first began acting in the late 1970s. She landed her breakout role as Rebecca Howe in NBC's Cheers in 1987. Alley won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her Cheers role. Also on TV, she starred in Veronica's Closet, which earned her an Emmy and Golden Globe nod, Fat Actress, Kirstie, and Scream Queens. She won her second Emmy for TV movie David's Mother.
On the big screen, she starred in Summer School, the Look Who's Talking franchise, Village of the Damned, For Richer or Poorer, and Drop Dead Gorgeous.
More recently, she made the reality TV rounds, appearing on Dancing With the Stars, The Masked Singer, and Celebrity Big Brother. ■
