Kirstie Alley (Gladys Leeman) was born on January 12, 1955 in Wichita, Kansas. She attended Kansas State University and studied Agriculture and Applied Science. Kirstie's heart was with drama and the dream to become an actress so she switched career choices and joined the art school of the University of Kansas. Although Hollywood was her first choice, before she made her move to Los Angeles, she studied acting and worked as an interior designer for five years in her hometown.

It wasn't long before she made her film debut. It was in the female lead role of “Star Trek II”. Even though she had been in film, she first gained notoriety for her portrayal of bar-owner Rebecca Howe on the long running TV comedy “Cheers”. Her depiction of the neurotic overachiever won her an Emmy, Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. She was with the show for a highly successful six years.

She completed production on the drama “Common Ground” which reunites her with John Travolta, with whom she starred in the box office hits “Look Who’s Talking” and “Look Who’s Talking, Too”. She also starred in the Woody Allen flick “Deconstructing Harry” and the romantic comedy “For Richer or Poorer” opposite Tim Allen and “Sibling Rivalry”

Alley made her return to network Television by producing and starring in the hit show, “Veronica’s Closet”. In the sit-com’s first season, Alley won nominations for a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and an Emmy as well as earned herself a People’s Choice Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. The show continues to consistently rank in the Nielsens top three.

Carl Reiner summed up Alley's talent by stating, "Kirstie has a humanity that melts you…Plus, she can ad-lib within the character, which is difficult to do correctly. Actors ad-lib all the time, but it's usually incongruous to the character and story."