Kirstie Alley joined the popular comedy "Cheers" in 1987, as melodramatic bar manager Rebecca Howe. Replacing Shelley Long's snobbish server Diane Chambers, Alley too played the role of a romantic interest for bartender Sam Malone (Ted Danson).
In 1990, Alley won the Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, ratings stayed very high, and "Cheers" ended on a finale viewed by about 100 million. A certified TV star, Alley's next big TV project was her own vehicle, the 1997 to 2000 sitcom "Veronica's Closet." In its first year, the show about a neurotic lingerie magnate earned "Cheers"-level ratings.
On December 5, 2022, Alley's children, True and Lillie Parker, announced via their mother's X, formerly known as Twitter, account that the "Cheers" and "Veronica's Closet" star had died. The general public didn't know that Alley had been ill, and the actor and her family had barely found out themselves. "Our incredible, fierce, and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered," the Parkers wrote, adding that Alley received treatment at the Moffitt Cancer Center. Alley's manager told NBC's "Today" that his client had died from the effects of colon cancer, at the age of 71.
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