Biography

Kelly Preston (born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith, October 13, 1962, in Honolulu, Hawaii; died July 12, 2020, in Clearwater, Florida) was an American actress and former model of Hawaiian descent. She was discovered by a fashion photographer at age 16 while living in Australia, made her television debut on Capitol (1982), and adopted her professional surname by 1983. A graduate of Punahou School in Honolulu, she married John Travolta in 1991 after meeting him on the set of The Experts (1989); they had two children, Jett and Ella Bleu Travolta. She died of breast cancer at age 57. Her most notable film credits include Marnie Mason in Twins (1988, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito), Avery Bishop in Jerry Maguire (1996, with Tom Cruise), Jane Aubrey in For Love of the Game (1999, with Kevin Costner), Kate Newell in Holy Man (1998, with Eddie Murphy), Ann Beam in Nothing to Lose (1997, with Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence), Linda in Addicted to Love (1997, with Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick), a Newscaster in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Joan Walden in Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat (2003, with Mike Myers), Libby Reynolds in What a Girl Wants (2003), Josie Stronghold in Sky High (2005), Helen Hume in Death Sentence (2007, with Kevin Bacon), Vicki Greer in Old Dogs (2009, with John Travolta and Ella Bleu Travolta), Pam Abramoff in Casino Jack (2010, with Kevin Spacey), Kim Miller in The Last Song (2010, with Miley Cyrus), and Victoria Gotti in Gotti (2018, with John Travolta). On television she appeared in CSI: Cyber (2016, 3 episodes), Medium (2008, 4 episodes), Fat Actress (2005, 4 episodes), Joey (2004), Tales from the Crypt (1989), and For Love and Honor (1983–1984, 12 episodes). Her final film role was Cassie in Off the Rails (2021, posthumous release)..