RIP Kelly Preston

Kelly Preston, Jerry Maguire Star and Wife to John Travolta, Dies at 57

The actress, who also starred in Mischief, SpaceCamp, and For Love of the Game, died Sunday two years after a breast cancer diagnosis

Vanity Fair

By Christopher Rosen

July 13, 2020

Kelly Preston, who memorably punched Tom Cruise in the face in Jerry Maguire and watched Kevin Costner pitch a perfect game in For Love of the Game, died on Sunday at the age of 57, two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Her husband, John Travolta, confirmed the news on his Instagram account.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many,” Travolta wrote. “My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don’t hear from us for a while. But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal.”

Married in 1991, Preston and Travolta had three children together: Jett Travolta, who died in 2009 at the age 16; Ella Bleu Travolta, 20; and Benjamin Travolta, 9.

“I have never met anyone as courageous, strong, beautiful and loving as you,” Ella Bleu wrote on her Instagram account after Preston’s death. “Anyone who is lucky enough to have known you or to have ever been in your presence will agree that you have a glow and a light that never ceases to shine and that makes anyone around you feel instantly happy. Thank you for being there for me no matter what. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your help and thank you for making this world a better place. You have made life so beautiful and I know you will continue to do so always.”

In a statement to People, a representative for the family said Preston had chosen to keep her breast cancer diagnosis private but added that “she had been undergoing medical treatment for some time, supported by her closest family and friends. She was a bright, beautiful, and loving soul who cared deeply about others and who brought life to everything she touched. Her family asks for your understanding of their need for privacy at this time.”

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 13, 1962, Preston’s first big break came for a role she didn’t even get: as she told Andy Cohen on an episode of Watch What Happens Live in 2018, Preston was in high school when she was approached to star in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon. The part eventually went to Brooke Shields, but the interest in Preston put her on the map and she spent the next few years appearing as a guest-star on television shows like Hawaii Five-O, Quincy M.E., and CHiPs. Her breakout in Hollywood came with 1985’s Mischief, a 1950s-set teen sex comedy that recalled Porky’s in tone and nudity. In the immediate aftermath, Preston worked consistently, co-starring in 1986’s SpaceCamp as well as 1988’s Twins opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito*. In 1989, she appeared in The Experts with Travolta. During production, Preston was married to actor Kevin Gage, but she later told Cohen, “I was not that happily married, let’s put it that way. I was really with the wrong person.” After her divorce, she and Travolta began dating and were married in 1991.

Preston and Travolta worked together a number of times on screen, including the infamous 2000 flop Battlefield Earth, based on the 1982 book by L. Ron Hubbard (Preston and Travolta are members of the Church of Scientology). Her final film role to date is 2018’s Gotti, which starred Travolta as the infamous mob boss and Preston as his wife, Victoria.

PRESTON, Kelly (Kelly Kamalelehua Kelly)

Born: 10/13/1962, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Died: 7/12/2020, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Kelly Preston’s westerns – actress:

Lone Star (TV) – 1983 (redhead)

Cheyenne Warrior (TV) – 1994 (Rebecca Carver)