Who are Kirstie Alley Parents? Her mom’s tragic death

Beloved actor Kirstie Alley died in early December 2022 following a brief battle with colon cancer. Alley built her reputation with roles in Runaway and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan before achieving stardom via her portrayal of Rebecca Howe in Cheers. Alley won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her role in the comedy series. 

“She [Kirstie] 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,” a statement by Alley’s children read. “As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”

Kirstie Alley was born on 12th January 1951 in Wichita, Kansas, to Lilian and Robert Deal Alley. Robert owned a lumber company, and Lilian was a homemaker. 

Alley was a rebellious teenager who often clashed with her parents. “I don’t think my upbringing was good,” Kirstie told emmys.com. “My mom and I had a rough relationship.”

Kirstie would leave the house looking modest before getting into the back of her friend’s car to don her party outfits. Alley and her friend would use fake I.D.s to get into bars. 

She dropped out of Kansas State University in her sophomore year and married her high school sweetheart Bob Alley, who interestingly shared the same name with her dad. Following the couple’s divorce two years later, Kirstie started using cocaine, a habit that would plague her for decades. 

“I was the one with the drugs, but that’s not why they loved me,” Alley wrote in How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life. “It was because I was no longer Kirstie Lou, divorcee, introverted, shy girl. No, now I was Kirstie Fabulous. Snow queen of College Hill Park. I was fabulous.”

In 1981, Kirstie’s parents were involved in an automobile accident with a drunk driver. Lilian Alley died; Robert was seriously injured and eventually recovered.

Alley was auditioning for a role in Star Trek, but she couldn’t make it to the fourth audition due to Lilian’s funeral. After the ceremony, Kirstie, despite her emotional struggles, auditioned and got the role. 

The drunk driver spent three months in prison for causing the incident. “I shouldn’t have been driving that night,” Cherrie Glymph, the driver, told The National Enquirer. “I had a lot of things on my mind and I was intoxicated.” Glymph said she didn’t realize she’d consumed too much. 

Cherrie attempted to meet Kirstie, but the actor declined. Glymph told Radar Online that she understood why Alley refused to meet her:

“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.”