Actress Kirstie Alley Dies at 71

Kirstie Alley attends the premiere of Quiver Distribution's "The Fanatic" at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on Aug. 22, 2019. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Actress Kirstie Alley, best known for her Emmy-winning role in the 1980s television sitcom “Cheers,” and in the “Look Who’s Talking” movies, passed away on Monday.

Alley’s children, True and Lillie Parker, used their mother’s Twitter account to announce that Alley passed away from cancer that had only recently been identified.

“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,” True and Lillie Parker wrote on 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.

“As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother,” their statement read.

True and Lillie Parker thanked the doctors and nurses at the Moffitt Cancer Center for providing care to Alley, who was 71.

They remembered their mother as having a “zest and passion” for life, her children, her grandchildren, and “her many animals,” as well as an “eternal joy of creating” which inspire them to “live life to the fullest just as she did.”

Alley starred as Rebecca Howe on the NBC sitcom “Cheers” from 1987 to 1993, after the departure of original star Shelley Long.

Between 1997 through 2000, the network aired the actress’s own sitcom, “Veronica’s Closet.”