Kirstie Alley was cremated following her shocking death on Dec. 5, according to Us Weekly, who obtained her death certificate on Dec. 29. The outlet also reported that the Golden Globe winner’s death certificate said she died at her residence in Clearwater, Fla. She was 71 years old.
Kirstie’s children, True Parker, 30, and Lillie Parker, 28, confirmed on Dec. 5 that she died following a brief and private battle with colon cancer. “To all our friends, far and wide around the world… We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” their Twitter statement read. “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. As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”
— Kirstie Alley (@kirstiealley) December 6, 2022
Kirstie shared her children with her ex-husband, The Hardy Boys actor Parker Stevenson. The pair were married between 1983 and 1997. Kirstie was first married to Bob Alley, but did not have kids during their seven-year union.
Parker posted a sweet tribute to Alley following her death on Instagram. Alongside a pic of the pair smiling, he wrote, “Dear Kirstie, I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have. You will be missed.”
Alley was also fondly remembered by her friends, colleagues, and fellow celebrities following her death, including Cheers co-star Ted Danson. “I was on a plane today and did something I rarely do. I watched an old episode of Cheers. It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie, who keeps saying no, even though she desperately wants to say yes. Kirstie was truly brilliant in it,” he told PEOPLE in a statement on Dec. 6.
“Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both moving and hysterically funny. She made me laugh 30 years ago when she shot that scene, and she made me laugh today just as hard,” he continued. “As I got off the plane, I heard that Kirstie had died. 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.”
Ted, 75, and Kirstie acted on Cheers for six years together between 1987 and 1993. She earned both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991 for her role of Rebecca Howe. The gig was considered her breakout role.
Kirstie’s other co-star, Rhea Perlman, 74, also remembered her as a “unique and wonderful person and friend” and a person with “boundless” joy.
Other celebrities who mourned Kirstie’s death included Tim Allen, 69, who starred opposite her in 1997’s For Richer or Poorer, John Travolta, 68, who co-starred with her in 1989’s Look Who’s Talking and 1993’s Look Who’s Talking Now, and Jamie Lee Curtis, 64, to name a few.