Kelly Preston

Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress. She appeared in more than 60 television and film productions, including Mischief (1985), Twins (1988), Jerry Maguire (1996), and For Love of the Game (1999). She married John Travolta in 1991, and collaborated with him on the comedy film The Experts (1989) and the biographical film Gotti (2018). She also starred in the films SpaceCamp (1986), The Cat in the Hat (2003), What a Girl Wants (2003), Sky High (2005), and Old Dogs (2009).

Early life

Kelly Kamalelehua Smith<ref name=hawaii_20021021>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (the middle name "Kamalelehua" means "garden of lehuas" in Hawaiian)<ref name=GaleBios>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center. Her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when she was four years old.<ref name="eonline" /><ref name=starbulletin_19990517_features>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her mother subsequently married Peter Palzis, a personnel director. He adopted her, and she used his name at the start of her acting career.<ref name="yahoo" /> She also had a younger half-brother, Chris Palzis.<ref name="yahoo"/>

As a child, she lived in Iraq,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and also Australia,<ref name=abc_12450616>Template:Cite news</ref> where she attended Pembroke School, Adelaide. She then attended Punahou School in Honolulu, graduating in 1980,<ref name="staradvertiser_20200712_breaking">Template:Cite news</ref> and studied drama and theater at the University of Southern California.<ref name=com_20200713_john>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

While living in Australia, she was discovered at age 16 by a fashion photographer who helped her get work in commercials and other small parts.<ref name="yahoo" /> He arranged her first film audition for the role of Emmeline in The Blue Lagoon (1980), which she lost to the younger Brooke Shields.<ref name=imdb>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At that time she changed her last name to Preston.<ref name=archive_201603032337>Kelly Preston Vitals Template:Webarchive at Ask Men.com</ref>

Her first prominent film roles came in 1985—first as Marilyn McCauley in the romantic teen flick comedy Mischief; then as the beautiful but shallow Deborah Ann Fimple in another teen romantic comedy, Secret Admirer. Her other roles included SpaceCamp (1986), Twins<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (1988) with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, Avery Bishop in Jerry Maguire (1996) with Tom Cruise, Jane Aubrey in For Love of the Game with Kevin Costner and Kate Newell, and in Holy Man (1998) with Eddie Murphy and Jeff Goldblum. In 1997, she starred in Nothing to Lose, which co-starred Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence. She also starred in the movie Jack Frost (1998).

She played the girlfriend of her husband John Travolta's character Terl in the film Battlefield Earth,<ref name="bobgraham0119">Template:Cite news</ref> for which she received "Worst Supporting Actress" at the 21st Golden Raspberry Awards.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She appeared as the protagonist's flying, superhero mother in the film Sky High (2005).<ref name="TVG Filmography" />

File:Kelly Preston Navy 2005 (cropped).jpg

Preston in 2005

In 2004, she was in the Maroon 5 music video "She Will Be Loved", which featured a love triangle and romantic scenes between her and Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine. She appeared in the crime thriller Death Sentence (2007), in which she played Helen Hume, the wife of Kevin Bacon's character Nick. In 2008, she was cast in a television pilot called Suburban Shootout,<ref name="trechak">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and had a short term recurring role in Medium.<ref name="trechak" />

She starred in the Lifetime television film The Tenth Circle (2008), directed by Peter Markle. It was shot in Nova Scotia and featured Ron Eldard, Britt Robertson, Michael Riley, Jamie Johnston and Geordie Brown.<ref name=IMDb_TenthCircle>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She was a spokeswoman for Neutrogena, appearing in its print and television ads.<ref name=UPI-Neutrogena>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>"Kelly Preston Fronts Neutrogena" Template:Webarchive. January 20, 2005. Monsters and Critics.</ref>

Her final red carpet appearance came at the New York City premiere of her husband's motion picture Gotti in 2018.<ref name=FoxNews_FinalDays>Template:Cite news</ref>

Her final film role was in the comedy-drama Off the Rails, which was released in late July 2021 in the UK.

Personal life

Preston was married to actor Kevin Gage from 1985 until their divorce in 1987.<ref name="Cho 2020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She also had a relationship with George Clooney in the late 1980s.<ref name="Cho 2020"/><ref name="yahoo" />

Preston was briefly engaged to Charlie Sheen in 1990,<ref name="yahoo" /><ref name="girls">Template:Cite news</ref> but ended the relationship shortly after an accidental gun discharge left shrapnel in her body.<ref name="girls"/><ref name=archive_201403220237>"Charlie Sheen Biography" Template:Webarchive, Biography Channel website. Retrieved October 26, 2010.</ref> In a 2011 interview with TMZ, Preston said that Sheen did not shoot her.<ref name=tmz_20110506_kelly>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Preston met John Travolta in 1987 while filming The Experts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They married in 1991, traveling to Paris on an Air France Concorde for a wedding ceremony at the Hotel de Crillon (on the Place de la Concorde) on September 5, 1991. However, a second ceremony was required because the first, performed by a French Scientology minister (both Preston and Travolta were Scientologists), was considered invalid. The second ceremony took place on September 12, 1991, in Daytona Beach, Florida.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Preston and Travolta had three children: son Jett, daughter Ella Bleu,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a second son, Benjamin.<ref name=people_20101124_john>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Preston remained a Scientologist until her death.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Death of Jett Travolta

Preston's son Jett Travolta was described as suffering from Kawasaki disease as an infant and had a history of seizures.<ref name=people_20090102>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=eonline_20090102>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2003, Preston appeared on The Montel Williams Show to promote L. Ron Hubbard's Purification Rundown, which she credited with helping her son.<ref name="wright">Template:Cite book</ref>

On January 2, 2009, Jett Travolta died at the age of 16 while the family was vacationing in the Bahamas.<ref name=cnn_20090102>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name='bbcnews20090102'>Template:Cite news</ref> His death was attributed to a seizure.<ref name=go_6576215>Template:Cite news</ref>

On January 23, 2009, three people were arrested in the Bahamas in connection with a multimillion-dollar extortion plot against Travolta and Preston concerning the circumstances of their son's death.<ref name="extort">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> One of the men, Obie Wilchcombe, a member of the Bahamian Parliament and former Bahamian Minister of Tourism, was described as a "close friend" of Travolta and Preston.<ref name="extort" /> Two others allegedly involved were an EMT named Tarino Lightbourne and a Bahamian senator named Pleasant Bridgewater. Bridgewater was charged with abetment to extort and conspiracy to extort and resigned from the Senate as a result of the allegations.<ref name="extort" /><ref name=tmz_20090124_travolta>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Travolta and Preston confirmed longstanding speculations when they testified that their son had autism and suffered regular seizures.<ref name=go_8649816>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The first trial ended in a mistrial.

After a second jury had been selected, the Travoltas elected to drop the case and all charges against the defendants were dismissed.<ref name=nydailynews_438471>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Death

On July 12, 2020, Preston died at the age of 57 at her home in Clearwater, Florida,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> two years after she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=ET-death>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=ABC13>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NYT_death">Template:Cite news</ref> Her diagnosis was not widely publicized.<ref name=":0"/> Preston had been receiving treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; she had also been treated at other medical centers.<ref name=HoustonChron>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=PeopleDeath>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her death was announced in an Instagram post under an account belonging to John Travolta and Ella Bleu.<ref name=Variety_Death>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1983	10 to Midnight	Doreen		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn	Dhyana		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Christine	Roseanne		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1985	Mischief	Marilyn McCauley		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Secret Admirer	Deborah Anne Fimple		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1986	SpaceCamp	Tish Ambrosé		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	52 Pick-Up	Cynthia 'Cini' Frazier		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1987	Love at Stake	Sara Lee		<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
	Template:Sortname	Shirley Butts		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Amazon Women on the Moon	Violet	Segment: "Titan Man"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1988	Spellbinder	Miranda Reed		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Twins	Marnie Mason		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1989	Template:Sortname	Bonnie		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1991	Run	Karen Landers		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1992	Only You	Amanda Hughes		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1994	Double Cross	Vera Blanchard	Video	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Love Is a Gun	Jean Starr		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1995	Mrs. Munck	Young Rose Munck		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Waiting to Exhale	Kathleen	Uncredited cameo	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1996	Citizen Ruth	Rachel		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	From Dusk till Dawn	Kelly Houge, Newscaster		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Curdled	Kelly Hogue		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Jerry Maguire	Avery Bishop		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1997	Addicted to Love	Linda		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Nothing to Lose	Ann Beam		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1998	Holy Man	Kate Newell		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Jack Frost	Gabby Frost		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1999	For Love of the Game	Jane Aubrey		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2000	Battlefield Earth	Chirk		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2001	Daddy and Them	Rose		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2003	View from the Top	Sherry		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	What a Girl Wants	Libby Reynolds		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Template:Sortname	Joan Walden		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2004	Eulogy	Lucy Collins		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Return to Sender	Susan Kennan		<ref name="RT Filmog" />
2005	Sky High	Josie Stronghold / Jetstream		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2006	Broken Bridges	Angela Delton		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2007	Death Sentence	Helen Hume		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2008	Struck	Trista	Short film	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2009	Old Dogs	Vicki Greer		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2010	Template:Sortname	Kim Miller		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Casino Jack	Pam Abramoff		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2014	Dissonance	Kim	Short film
2018	Gotti	Victoria Gotti		<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
2021	Off the Rails	Cassie	Posthumous release	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1980	Hawaii Five-O	Wendy	Episode: "For Old Times Sake"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1982	Capitol	Gillian McCandless	Episode: "Pilot"
1983	Quincy M.E.	Ginger Reeves	Episode: "On Dying High"
	The Renegades	Lisa Primus	Episode: "Back to School"
	CHiPs	Anna	Episode: "Things That Go Creep in the Night"	<ref name="Gawley" />
1983–1984	For Love and Honor	Mary Lee	Regular role (12 episodes)	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1984	Riptide	Sherry Meyers	Episode: "The Hardcase"
	Blue Thunder	Amy Braddock	Episode: "The Long Flight"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1990	Tales from the Crypt	Linda	Episode: "The Switch"	<ref name="RT Filmog" />
1991	The Perfect Bride	Laura	Television film
1993	The American Clock	Diana Marley	Television film
1994	Cheyenne Warrior	Rebecca Carver	Television film
1996	Little Surprises	Ginger	Short
2000	Bar Hopping	Bebe	Television film
2001	Fear Factor	Herself	Episode: "First Celebrity Fear Factor"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2004	Joey	Donna Di Gregorio	Episodes: "Joey and the Dream Girl: Parts 1 & 2"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2005	Fat Actress	Quinn Taylor Scott	Recurring role (4 episodes)	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2006	Legends Ball	Herself	Television documentary film
2008	Medium	Meghan Doyle	Recurring role (4 episodes)	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Template:Sortname	Laura Stone	Television film	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2010	Kirstie Alley's Big Life	Herself	Episode: "Oh Rats! It's My Birthday!"
2013	Adopted	Karey	Television film
2016	CSI: Cyber	Greer Latimore	Recurring role (3 episodes)	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
2013	The Stafford Project	Tabitha	Episode: "White Secret"	citation	CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Role	Template:Abbr
2004	"She Will Be Loved"	Maroon 5	Socialite / Mother	citation	CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
2006	"Broken"	Lindsey Haun	Angela Delton

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Production	Result	Template:Abbr
2001	Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Supporting Actress	Battlefield Earth	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2004			The Cat in the Hat	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2010			Old Dogs	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019			Gotti	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
		Worst Screen Combo		Template:Nom	<ref name="GD" />

External links

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