"Our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away." Kirstie Alley has died aged 71.

Actor Kirstie Alley has died, aged 71, after a short battle with cancer.

Alley's children, True and Lillie Parker, announced the news via a statement posted to 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," they wrote. "As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.

"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." 

pic.twitter.com/g4nAItrR5x

— Kirstie Alley (@kirstiealley) December 6, 2022

Alley's breakout role was via the popular 1980s sitcom Cheers, for which she earned an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

She followed with the titular role in Veronica's Closet, and a series of Hollywood films including Drop Dead Gorgeous and Look Who's Talking.

Actor John Travolta, who starred alongside Alley in the latter, paid tribute to her on Instagram, saying: “Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”

Kirstie Alley and John Travolta had a close relationship after working together on Look Who's Talking. Image: Getty.

Jamie Lee Curtis described Alley as “great comic foil” during their time working together on the Ryan Murphy black comedy, Scream Queens.

“[She was] a beautiful mama bear in her very real life. She helped me buy onesies for my family that year for Christmas. We agreed to disagree about some things but had a mutual respect and connection. Sad news,” Curtis wrote on Instagram.

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Handmaid’s Tale star, Ever Carradine, who worked alongside Alley on Veronica’s Closet, tweeted that she had Alley to thank for her career.

“She told me I was funny every single day on Veronica’s Closet, and I believed her,” Carradine wrote. “She threw the best parties and gave the parakeets as our wrap gift. Godspeed.”

Fellow Cheers actor Kelsey Grammer said in a statement that “I always believed grief for a public figure is a private matter, but I will say I loved her.”

Kirstie Alley’s life and career.

When Kirstie Alley moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s, it wasn’t Hollywood that was calling. 

Struggling with an addiction to cocaine after divorcing her high school sweetheart, Alley found solace in the teachings of the Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard. She packed her belongings and enrolled in a Scientology-inspired rehabilitation program in California, which she later credited with saving her life.

Alley, who was working as an interior designer at the time, said the church also reignited her youthful ambitions to be an actor. 

She landed her first role in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in 1981. But it was her role as Rebecca Howe in prime-time sitcom, Cheers, that made her a household name.

Alley was nominated for five Emmy Awards for her performance, and when she won in 1991, she delivered a now-infamous speech in which she referred to her husband, actor Parker Stevenson, as “the man who has given me the big one for the past eight years”. 

The couple adopted two children before their acrimonious split in 1996.

Kirstie Alley won an Emmy for her performance as Rebecca on Cheers. Image: Getty.

Alley’s acting career spanned titles including television movie David’s Mother (for which she won another Emmy), and big screen comedies For Richer or Poorer and the Look Who’s Talking trilogy. On the small screen, she followed her Cheers success with starring roles in Veronica’s Closet, Kirstie and Fat Actress.

She also competed in US reality television shows Dancing with The Stars, Celebrity Big Brother and The Masked Singer. 

In recent years, Alley became a vocal presence on social media, where she earned headlines for her support of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Alley’s last post on social media on November 24 wished her followers a happy Thanksgiving holiday. 

She had not shared her cancer diagnosis with the public.