Remembering ‘Fat Actress’ Kirstie Alley

The feisty Kirstie Alley will be remembered most for her turn in Cheers, as Rebecca Howe, and the Look Who’s Talking series. (Personally, I grew up watching her in the Olsen twins comedy It Takes Two.) But her short-lived Showtime show Fat Actress also solidified the actress’ identity as a (mostly) proud, plus-size public figure.

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‘Fat Actress’

Kirstie Alley’s Fat Actress poster via themoviedb.org

Amid the success of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Showtime attempted their own semi-fictionalized — and semi-scripted — sitcom: Fat Actress. The show starred Kirstie Alley as herself, an actress who struggles in Hollywood due to her weight. Throughout the show, Alley attempts to lose weight and competes with skinnier starlets for new roles. Like in Curb, Alley’s real-life friends appeared, often as exaggerated versions of themselves. Among them: Kelly Preston, who recurred as a hot bulimic, always pressuring Alley to lose weight.

The dialogue was largely improvised.

Premiering in 2005, Fat Actress was an edgy bet for Showtime… but the comedy didn’t quite land. Despite its inclusive premise, the bluntness of the title was telling. The jokes were just that: fat jokes. But hey, it was the early aughts! Still, critics — and viewers — noticed and Fat Actress was cancelled after one season.

But that doesn’t mean the show is without some iconic moments. Including the sultry, stylized pink poster.

Kirstie Alley’s Weight Loss Journey

Kirstie Alley lost 75 pounds while working as a Jenny Craig spokesperson from 2004 to 2007. She weighed about 145 pounds during that time but following her departure from Jenny Craig, she gained 83 pounds.

In 2011, Alley debuted new weight loss again, shedding 100 pounds. She publicly attributed the change to her own program: Organic Liaison. But the following year, she faced a class-action lawsuit for false advertising. She was accused of exercising heavily — particularly during her run on Dancing with the Stars — rather than relying on the Organic Liaison products. Alley settled and was forced to change her labels, in addition to paying a $130,000 fine.

In 2014, Jenny Craig acquired Alley’s Organic Liaison line and she resumed her public-facing role with the famed diet company. Again, she lost 50 pounds.

The Death of Kirstie Alley

On December 5, 2022, the news of Kirstie Alley’s death shocked the world. The actress had been battling colon cancer privately, seeking treatment in Tampa at the Moffitt Cancer Center, her grown children revealed.

William “True” Stevenson and Lillie Stevenson, whom Alley shared with her ex-husband Parker Stevenson, shared the sad news on social media. “We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce, and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” they wrote on Alley’s official Instagram page.

Since then, many stars have publicly shared their condolences and memories of Alley, including Jamie Lee Curtis and her Cheers co-stars Kelsey Grammar, Rhea Perlman, and Ted Danson. Parker Stevenson also 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.”

READ MORE: Kirstie Alley and John Travolta’s Complicated Friendship

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