There's no shortage of celebrities like Kirstie Alley who've managed to get blackballed from
Hollywood. After some legal issues, a controversial religion, and various celebrity feuds, she's
pretty much persona non grata in Hollywood.
So, let’s find out what really happened to Kirstie Alley.
Before Kirstie Alley was an actor, she was just a small-town girl from the Midwest with
big dreams. In 2015, Alley guest-starred on the ABC sitcom, The Middle, which takes place
in the Midwest. In an interview with Parade, Alley explained that she loved the show and
really understood it, saying,
"I'm from Wichita, Kansas, that's where I was born and raised.”
Alley explained that her dream of one day opening a mobile pet grooming salon seemed
too outlandish because of where she was raised. Alley clearly continues to see herself as
a Midwest girl at heart, despite having moved to Hollywood to pursue her career.
Alley appeared on several game shows back in the '70s, including Match Game. Yes, just
like many an Instagram influencer got their start on The Bachelor, Alley also got her
start on a reality competition show. However, Alley said that it was pretty unlikely that
she could have become the actor she did with that kind of background, at least at the time.
In an interview with Parade, Alley discussed how she landed in Hollywood in the first place
and credited game shows with giving her a head start.
"With reality shows and things like that on TV now, people probably feel a little more
hopeful that they could make something of themselves, but at that time, 30 years ago,
it was just like, 'How could I possibly dare to think that I could go be a star? How could
I possibly think that?'"
Still, Alley did dare to think and dream that she'd become a star, and despite her humble
upbringing in Kansas, it happened for her.
Kirstie Alley might have left her Midwestern home to pursue her dream, but after appearing
on game shows, she might not have made it big were it not for this one sci-fi movie:
Alley landed a role in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and after that, her career really
took off. She reiterated the story to Parade:
"I went from nothing to that, literally nothing. That was a big leap because remember it was
1981.”
Even though Alley's role in Star Trek was a fantastic launchpad for the rest of her
career, Alley did not reprise her role as Saavik in the follow-up films after reportedly
asking for ten times the salary of what she earned on The Wrath of Khan.
Although there are conflicting reports about whether that was the real reason Alley decided
to depart the Federation. Alley claims that the reason she didn’t revive her role was
that she was afraid of being typecast.
Alley has been open and honest about her struggles with drugs; she even confessed that the only
reason she went to Hollywood in the first place was because of her drug addiction. She
recalled the story to Parade.
"The truth of how I escaped Kansas is being high, I was drugged out of my mind on cocaine,
and I got in the car, and I left to go to California."
In a 2019 tweet, Alley revealed that she put an end to her drug problems.
"For you who don't know much about me, I used to be a coke head, I quit drugs in 1979 and
vowed to spend the money weekly on flowers that I'd spent on drugs. I buy and arrange
my own flowers as a gift to MYSELF. "
Sadly, Kirstie Alley's mother was tragically killed in a drunk driving accident in 1981.
Not only did Alley's mother never get to see how successful her daughter would become,
but the drama surrounding her death followed Alley for years.
According to Radar Online, the woman who was driving the vehicle that crashed into Alley's
parents and killed her mother, Cherrie White, expressed remorse.
"That night is always on my mind, and I'm so sorry for what happened."
For as nice as those sentiments are, White also requested to meet Alley, which made things
a little strange.
"I can understand why Kirstie doesn't want to talk with me, but if she changed her mind,
I would tell Kirstie and her father how truly sorry I am for what happened that night and
the pain that I caused them."
Kirstie Alley's acting career really took off in the '80s, and after that, she landed
a ton of great roles. But in 2014, her own show, Kirstie, actually got canceled after
only one season. The show featured Alley as a star on Broadway whose biological son shows
up out of the blue when the mother who adopted him dies.
For a while, it seemed as though Kirstie, which aired on TV Land, might be Alley's big
break back into television after Veronica's Closet ended. However, that wasn't the case;
as intriguing as that storyline was, it wasn't meant to be. Alley herself expressed dismay
at the show being canceled to Parade.
"I wish they'd had given it more time, I just can't even imagine that you have Rhea Perlman
and Michael Richards, and you can't make a show work."
Alas, it didn't.
Though Kirstie Alley's career was wildly successf ul for many years, her personal life was a
bit more complicated. Notably, she was married to Parker Stevenson for almost 14 years; they
adopted two children, William and Lillie, before splitting up, according to Us Weekly.
In 2016, Alley's family grew even more as she became a grandmother. Alley took to Twitter
to share the happy news that she was officially a grandma.
"When your son has a son...bliss."
she wrote above a black and white photo of her son holding her grandson.
"Yes, this is my secret happy news as promised… Welcome, Waylon Tripp Parker."
Scientology must majorly appeal to many celebrities, as Kirstie Alley is far from the first or
the most famous celeb to take part in the religion. Elisabeth Moss, John Travolta, and
Tom Cruise are all Scientologists, and Alley is as well. But Alley doesn't think her religious
choices should be as controversial as they are.
At one point, Cruise was under fire for his religious actions, and Alley's decision to
stand up for him led to her becoming just as controversial as Cruise. Speaking to Entertainment
Tonight, Alley explained her choice to stand by Cruise and Scientology as a whole.
"I think whenever you have articles written that are third and fourth parties' opinions
— it's like the game Gossip, and you don't get the truth."
Clearly, Alley has no remorse for her beliefs and is proud of her church. Though Scientology
is highly controversial and has been accused of being a cult.
In Hollywood, there's obviously a lot of pressure to look a certain way, and that especially
pertains to body image. Sadly, the perfect body doesn't exist, and Alley has struggled
with a lot of fluctuating weight issues and has never found them easy to deal with.
Alley confessed to Parade that she was constantly confused by how her body gained weight so
easily.
"I don't know exactly, but it's more unreal, to me, to gain 50 pounds than to lose 50 pounds,
just as it's easier to lay on the couch and watch movies than to go work out, but I've
realized... I've gotten a little more responsible. Hey, balance is key.”
“Like yesterday I was shopping in Barneys and a guy from Sweden or something he’s
going ‘Jenny, Jenny, Jenny!’ I go, ‘What?’ ‘Are you Jenny Craig?’”
Kirstie Alley has never been one to shy away from sharing her opinion, and in 2017, she
had no qualms about making her feelings about the #MeToo movement clear.
In November of 2017, Alley took to Twitter to let out her frustrations.
"We now live in a country where people lose their jobs when accused of something without
proof or trial or in some cases with anonymous accusers? Can't confront your accuser?”
The #MeToo movement ripped through Hollywood, where actors and crew members had started
to reveal the horrible sexual assault and misconduct they faced from the men in the
industry, so Alley's words weren't exactly well-received. Safe to say, Twitter kind of
went off on Alley, and she didn't really win any popularity contests for what she said.
To take a look back at Kirstie Alley's career, you might think that she peaked in the '80s
and '90s. And while she certainly excelled during that time, things slowed down for Alley
a bit in the 2000s.
Alley landed a role in the Ryan Murphy series Scream Queens for its second season. According
to Entertainment Weekly,
"Alley was cast as the brilliant and devious administrator where some of the most fascinating
and bizarre medical cases are under observation."
Fox praised Alley’s many accomplishments. Their press release reads:
"Alley is known as one of the great actresses of her generation, proving time and again
that she is capable of great depth and range, as well as possessing a comedic timing second
to none."
Sadly, Scream Queens was canceled after Alley's season.
To say that Donald Trump is a controversial figure in American politics would be an understatement.
But Kirstie Alley praised him and voted for him in 2016 and 2020.
"I'm voting for @realDonaldTrump because he's NOT a politician,"
Alley tweeted in October 2020, unapologetically.
"I voted for him 4 years ago for this reason and shall vote for him again for this reason.
He gets things done quickly, and he will turn the economy around quickly."
Judd Apatow responded with a simple tweet, saying,
"Shelly Long was way funnier than you"
as Long ap peared on Cheers before Alley. With feuds like this, It’s safe to say Alley
isn't exactly beloved by too many of her fellow actors, but that hasn’t stopped her from
speaking up on many hot-button issues.
Kirstie Alley doesn't exactly have a loving relationship with some of her fellow Hollywood
stars. In particular, Alley has one ongoing feud with a former Scientologist that will
seemingly never die. Alley apparently doesn't like Leah Remini for what she said about her
former — and Alley's current — church.
Since leaving Scientology, Remini has been very outspoken about the religion and how
harmful it can be. Clearly, Alley isn't pleased and she took to Twitter to call Remini a liar
for reporting that a Scientology leader's wife was missing.
"This was done as a PR stunt to promote a book and show,It was not done out of real
concern."
Remini, for her part, hasn't minced words about her former religion, the tactics they
use to silence people, and her growing concern for Shelly Miscavige, who was a former friend.
Remini also had some choice words for Kirstie; she tweeted at Alley back in 2018.
"You're spreading false/defamatory info at the demand of your cult."
With harsh words like these, it seems Alley and Remini might stay enemies forever.
It's no secret that Kirstie Alley is politically conservative. And in 2020, that meant sharing
her opinion on CNN, accusing them of fear-mongering.
"I now Know why my personal friends who walk around in SHEER TERROR of contracting Covid
are simply CNN viewers, I decided to watch CNN myself to get their viewpoint, and oh
my God DID I EVER!!!! IF YOU TOO WANT TO LIVE IN TERROR WATCH CNN!! FEAR OF DYING IS THEIR
MANTRA! OMG!"
Yeah, based on comments like these and others, it’s safe to say she wasn't exactly pleased
with the network.
CNN had a pretty scathing response.
"Kirstie, you are welcome to change the channel — just like countless viewers did every
time Veronica's Closet came on TV, but don't downplay the loss of nearly 230K American
lives. And please, wear a mask."
Clearly, Alley doesn't care about her reputation, which might explain why her career seems to
be slowing.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more List videos about your favorite
celebrities are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you
don't miss a single one.