Kirstie Alley, best known for her role in the hit NBC sitcom Cheers, has died from cancer at the age of 71.
In a statement shared today (Tuesday 6th December), her children said: “We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a short battle with cancer, only recently discovered.
“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.”
The statement continued: “Our mother’s zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many animals, not to mention her eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did.”
Alley was best known for her role in the long-running comedy series Cheers, in which she portrayed manager and waitress Rebecca Howe.
The character was the on-off love interest of Boston bar owner Sam Malone (Ted Danson).
The actress starred in 148 episodes after joining the show in 1987 and continued to appear until the series’s end in 1993.
The role earned her an Emmy Award and catapulted her to fame.
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In 1994, Alley bagged a second Emmy for best lead actress for her role in the TV movie David’s Mother.
From 1997 to 2000, she appeared as the lead in the sitcom Veronica’s Closet, and in 1999 she featured in Drop Dead Gorgeous, a dark comedy about a beauty pageant.
More recently, she worked alongside Jamie Lee Curtis on the comedy horror Scream Queens.
Alley’s Cheers co-star Danson paid tribute following the tragic news of her passing.
Praising her performance, he told Deadline: “I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh. I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her.”
Kelsey Grammer, who played a psychiatrist alongside Alley in Cheers, also paid tribute to the star.
“I always believed grief for a public figure is a private matter, but I will say I loved her,” he said in a statement to the PA news agency.