Star Trek

Alley in 2010

Long before her slimming comeback turn on Dancing With the Stars—or even her star roles in Veronica‘s Closet and Cheers—Kirstie Alley arrived in Hollywood and nabbed her very first film role playing Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan—in no small measure due to her well-rehearsed fannish ability to arch an eyebrow a la Leonard Nimoy’s Spock. She did not, however, reprise the character for Star Trek III or IV, when Robin Curtis played Saavik.

Born in 1951 in Wichita, Kansas, Alley won an Emmy and a Golden Globe award for her work as Rebecca Howe on Cheers, and a second Emmy guest-starring on the mini-series David’s Mother.  Her roles as producer and performer on Veronica’s Closet netted her two People’s Choice awards as well. The Look Who’s Talking film trilogy was also a hit for Alley, while her dark look at beauty pageants in Drop Dead Gorgeous has become a cult classic.

Aside from Alley's recent reality show series and finishing second on Dancing, in 2010 she launched the Organic Liaison company with Rescue Me, the first USDA-certified organic weight-loss product. She had earlier served as spokesperson for Pier One and then Jenny Craig, and in 1995 was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.