Kirstie Alley was an incredible actress. Kirstie Alley’s roles in movies and TV shows often allowed her to display her dramatic and comedic chops on screen and in film. Kirstie Alley movies and TV shows have a separate fan base. Alley’s breakthrough performance on Cheers propelled her to fame as a rising star in the 1980s sitcom industry. Alley became a cinematic star almost immediately, and she has since played a wide variety of parts that range from comedic to dramatic. She never lost the sparkling personality that endeared her to fans in the first place, even when her career started to wane.
After her untimely death shocked the globe in late 2022, many people looked back at the body of work she had produced. Alley’s star power was undiminished even in cameo parts, and she was able to do so from the 1980s through the 2010s. Kirstie Alley’s movies and TV shows are more indicative of a career in the entertainment industry based on good performances than anything else, yet her role in Cheers will likely have her largest enduring impact.
Cheers (1982-1993)
Kirstie Alley’s career was defined by the television series Cheers, which aired for almost the entire 1980s. Sam (Ted Danson), the bar’s proprietor, and the rest of the pub’s colorful regulars and staff are the show’s primary subjects. After the pub was bought out, Alley joined the cast in season 6 as its new corporate manager, Rebecca Howe. This part allowed Alley to play a strong, independent woman, and the character’s feistiness was a source of much of the comedy in the film. Kirstie Alley was a mainstay of the program and will forever be associated with Cheers.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Kirstie Alley got a career-defining role in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan the same year she joined the cast of “Cheers.” Admiral James Kirk (William Shatner) is forced to face his history when Khan (Ricardo Montalban), a genetically created dictator, makes a second appearance in the film. Alley has a fantastic performance as the slick yet soulless Lt. Saavik, a young Vulcan. Despite Alley’s absence from Star Trek III, her contribution to the series is undeniable. Star Trek II was a more mature take on the popular utopian space series, and it brought the characters to new heights.
Look Who’s Talking (1989)
Kirstie Alley became a movie celebrity thanks to the success of Look Who’s Talking, just as she had been a television phenomenon because of Cheers. Mollie (Alley), a single mother, is divided between a married guy and her buddy James (John Travolta), and her baby son Mikey (Bruce Willis) is silently judging her through it all. Biting and funny, Look Who’s Talking transcends its reputation as a “talking baby movie” to become a film about the struggles of contemporary women. Alley’s grounded performance as the film’s center gives director Amy Heckerling room to shine. According to Box Office Mojo, the film was so successful that it spawned two sequels.
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
Drop Dead Gorgeous wasn’t exactly well received upon its 1999 premiere, but it has since become a real cult classic of the 1990s. Teens competing in an annual beauty pageant face a sequence of comedic misfortunes as they try to win the crown. Even though Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards had Oscar-worthy performances, it was Kirstie Alley as Gladys, the movie’s antagonist, who stole the show. Although there have been earlier films about beauty pageants, Drop Dead Gorgeous took a wonderfully sardonic perspective that was perfectly in keeping with the edgy ethos of the ’90s.
Veronica’s Closet (1997-2000)
In the ’80s, Kirstie Alley movies and TV shows established herself as a comedy star with Cheers, and in the ’90s, with the release of Veronica’s Closet, she did it again. In the NBC show, Veronica Chase (Alley) is a successful businesswoman and lingerie firm owner who starts over after divorcing her husband. Veronica’s Closet was a groundbreaking comedy because it was written from a female viewpoint and dealt with themes that women face. In the series’ three seasons, Alley remained as charming as ever, earning her nods for the Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
It Takes Two (1995)
Despite negative reviews, It Takes Two established the Olsen twins as household names and reintroduced Kirstie Alley to a whole new generation of moviegoers in the 1990s. At a summer camp, Alyssa (Ashley Olsen) and Amanda (Mary-Kate Olsen) meet and decide to exchange places with their parents to make them fall in love. Even though It Takes Two’s comical swap was par for the course for Olsen Twins movies, Alley’s moving portrayal of social worker Diane helped the film succeed. Alley was impressed with her range as a real character, and her chemistry with Steve Guttenberg was the highlight of the film.
Scream Queens (2015–2016)
Scream Queens featured some of the most famous female actors of multiple generations, and despite its short run, it left an indelible mark on popular culture. At Wallace University, the dean orders the school’s most prestigious sorority to relax its membership requirements at the same time that a murderous spree takes place. Scream Queens was a funny and creepy satire of modern life that paid homage to multiple eras of horror by featuring a wide range of actors and actresses from different generations of horror fans. In the final season, Alley got to show her mettle as the truly evil Ingrid Marie Hoffel.
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Deconstructing Harry made the most of Kirstie Alley’s comedic timing and presence, for which she is known despite her dramatic turns. Novelist Harry Block (Woody Allen) has built his career on writing autobiographical works, but on the eve of his greatest success, his characters emerge from the pages and have something to say to him. In this scene, Alley plays Joan, Harry’s ex-wife. This is one of the most iconic roles in Kirstie Alley movies and TV shows. She dominates the screen while berating her former husband. Although Allen has become a divisive figure and many actors have expressed regret at having worked with Woody Allen, Alley turns in a solid performance in Deconstructing Harry.
North and South (1985–1986)
Extremely few shows in the 1980s could match the success of North & South, a two-part miniseries that revolutionized television. The epic tale centers on best friends Orry Main (Patrick Swayze) and George Hazzard (James Read), who are on opposing sides of the American Civil War. Kirstie Alley, who co-stars in the show as Hazzard’s wife, Virgilia, delivers a stellar performance that perfectly encapsulates the show’s period setting. Overall, North & South set the bar high for subsequent miniseries epics, earning 10 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
The Last Don (1997)
The novels of Mario Puzo not only spawned the 1972 film classic The Godfather but also the 1997 TV miniseries The Last Don. The series follows Mafia Don Domenico Clericuzio (Danny Aiello) as he pushes his family towards legitimate business, which angers his fellow mobsters. Alley appears as Clericuzio’s daughter, Rose Marie, and is essentially the heart of the piece as she steers her father’s decisions. Alley was able to flex her dramatic muscles in a role that was out of her type, and the miniseries itself came as close to a classic gangster movie as possible for a series made in the 1990s.
