Kirstie Louise Alley (born January 12, 1951) is an American Emmy Award winning actress known for her role in the TV show 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.Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas, where she was raised, to Robert Deal Alley, who owned a lumber company, and Lillian Mickie Heaton, a homemaker; she has two siblings, Colette and Craig. Her mother died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver in 1981. Alley attended Wichita Southeast High School and became a cheerleader. She 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.
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. She is dedicated to and a strong activist for V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women.
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.