Actress Kelly Preston lost her two-year battle with breast cancer on Sunday July 12th; she was 57 years old. Her husband, John Travolta, took to Instagram to share the news.
Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, 1962. She was approached in high school to star in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon, the role ended up going to Brooke Shields, but the interest alone put her on the map, according to Vanity Fair. She spent the following years studying acting at the University of Southern California and guest starring on tv shows like Hawaii Five-0, Quincy M.E, and CHiPs. She changed her name to Kelly Preston before landing her first film role in Mischief in 1985.
Preston went on to star in Jerry Macguire where she played Tom Cruise’s fiancee Avery Bishop, and co-started opposite Kevin Costner in For the Love of the Game. In 1987, Preston and Travolta met on the set of The Experts and were married three years later. During the 2000s, Preston appeared in a number of television shows and films, including What s Girl Wants, Sky High, and Casino Jack. Her final role was in Kevin Connolly’s Gotti as Victoria Gotti, the mobster’s wife, her husband Travolta played John Gotti. Before her death, Preston had just finished filming an upcoming movie with Judi Dench, Off the Rails.
A family rep told People, “Choosing to keep her fight private, 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.” The late actress leaves behind her daughter Ella, 20, and her son Benjamin,9.