Born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Preston studied acting at the University of Southern California before landing some bit parts on television including “CHiPs” and “Roseanne.”
That led to the role of playing Mary Lee on the short-lived television series “For Love and Honor.”
But Hollywood took notice in 1988 when she starred as Marnie Mason, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character’s love interest in the comedy “Twins,” a film which also co-starred Danny DeVito.
That same year she met Travolta during a screen test for the film “The Experts.”
Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), better known by her stage name Kelly Preston, was an American actress and model. She appeared in more than sixty television and film productions, including Mischief (1985), Twins (1988), Jerry Maguire (1996) and For Love of the Game (1999). She was married to John Travolta, with whom she collaborated on comedy film The Experts (1989), science fiction film Battlefield Earth (2000), 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), Broken Bridges (2006) and Old Dogs (2009). Wikipedia
The actress had not been photographed publicly at a major event since June 2018 when she walked the red carpet with her husband for the premiere of his film “Gotti” in which he portrayed the late mobster, John Gotti and she played his wife, Victoria Gotti.
John Travolta posted this on his Twitter Account along with a photo of his beautiful wife: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
All my love,
JT
She had previously been married to actor Kevin Gage from 1985 to 1987 and had high profile romances with George Clooney and Charlie Sheen (to whom she was briefly engaged) before she wed Travolta.
Preston also starred in 90’s classics like “Jerry Maguire” and “For Love of the Game.”
In 1992 she and Travolta welcomed their first child, son Jett, who died in 2009 following a seizure, while the family vacationed in the Bahamas.
Daughter Ella followed in 2000 and son Benjamin who was born in 2010.
