Kirstie Alley, who starred in Look Who’s Talking and Cheers, passed away from cancer. She was 71 years old. John Travolta, who played her on-screen, posted a message of sympathy on Instagram.

Look Who’s Talking and Cheers actress Kirstie Alley went away from cancer.

Alley’s children True and Lillie Parker wrote on Twitter that she passed away from cancer that had only recently been identified. The death was verified by Donovan Daughtry, manager of Alley, in an email to The Associated Press.

“As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother,” her children’s statement said.

From 1987 through 1993, she played Rebecca Howe alongside Ted Danson in the popular NBC sitcom “Cheers,” which was set in a Boston bar. When the original star Shelley Long left the show, it was at its peak of popularity.

Alley would win an Emmy for best lead actress in a comedy series for the role in 1991. She would take a second Emmy for best lead actress in a miniseries or television movie in 1993 for playing the title role in the CBS TV movie “David’s Mother.”

From 1997 to 2000, she had her own sitcom on the network called “Veronica’s Closet.”

In the 1989 comedy “Look Who’s Talking,” which gave her a major career boost, she played the mother of a baby who’s inner thoughts were voiced by Bruce Willis. She would also appear in the 1990 sequel “Look Who’s Talking Too.”

John Travolta, her co-star in both films, paid her tribute in an Instagram post.

“Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had,” Travolta said, along with a photo of Alley. “I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”

She would play a fictionalized version of herself in the 2005 Showtime series “Fat Actress,” a show that drew comedy from her public and media treatment over her weight gain and loss.

And in recent years she appeared on several reality shows, including “Dancing With the Stars.”

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Alley attended Kansas State University before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles.

Her first television appearances were as a game show contestant, on “The Match Game” in 1979 and Password” in 1980.

She made her film debut in 1982’s “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.”