American actress Kelly Preston (Spacecamp, Sky High, CSI: Cyber, Battlefield Earth), who co-starred with her husband John Travolta (Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Welcome Back Kotter, , Face / Off, The Taking of Pelham 123 ) in the movie Battlefield Earth1 has passed away, losing her battle with breast cancer.
Kelly Kamalelehua Smith was born October 13, 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. She died July 13, 2020 in Houston, Texas, after a two year battle with cancer. Her acting career began when she was only 18 and included several sci-fi and horror projects,
She appeared in Metalstorm: the Destruction of Jared-Syn as Dhyana in 1983. In 1986 she played Tish in SpaceCamp. In 1987, she was Violet in Amazon Women on the Moon. She played Marnie Mason in Twins in 1988. Also in 1988, she co-starred with Tim Daly (the voice of Superman in numerous csrtoons) as Miranda Reed in the horror movie Spellbinder. She was in the horror film From Dusk Till Dawn as a newscaster in 1996. In 1998 she played Gabby Frost in Jack Frost.
Her most famous role was probably Chirk in Battlefield Earth in 2000. The movie was loosely based on L. Ron Hubbard’s novel of the sme name and starred her husband, John Travolta. (She unfortunately “won” the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress as Chirk in that film. )
In 2003, she played the mother in the live-action The Cat in the Hat, (for which she won another Golden Rasoberry as Worst Supporting Actress. In 2005, she appeared in Sky High as superheroine and realtor Jetstream, wife of The Commander, and mother of Will Stronghold.
Preston was married twice, to actor Kevin Gage (Doyle in Jurassic City) from 1985 to 1987, and to John Travolta between 1991 to 2020. They had three children together, Jett, Ella, and Benjamin. Her firstborn son predeceased her in 2009.
She was well respected in the motion picture community, and had an extensive list of credits. But most importantly, she was the love of John Travolta’s life and the center of his universe.
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. 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.
All my love,
JT
John Travolta, from his Instagram post on July 13, 2020
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Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.
