The Life of Sitcom Star and Scientologist Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Louise Alley is born on January 12, 1951, in Wichita, Kansas, far removed from the entertainment industry she will later enter. Her father, Robert Deal Alley, owns a lumber company, while her mother, Lillian Mickie Alley, manages the home, giving her a grounded, middle-American upbringing.

There is no early connection to Hollywood or acting, and nothing about her surroundings suggests a future in television or film. Instead, her life begins in a conventional setting, one that will make her eventual rise feel even more unexpected as her personality begins to take shape