Kirstie Alley was born on 12th January 1951, in Wichita, KS. She lived a typical Middle American childhood. Her father Robert owned a lumber company and her mother Lillian was a homemaker to her and her two siblings.She tried college, dropping out of both Kansas State University and the University of Kansas before deciding what she really wanted to do was act. She moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, working as an interior decorator, while at the same time, going out on auditions, albeit with little success.She auditioned for game shows. She appeared on "Match Game" (CBS, 1973-1982) in 1979 and "Password Plus" (NBC, 1979-1982) in 1980, impressing producers and the audience with her quick wit and dark girl-next-door good looks.Jerry Seinfeld-produced matrimonial reality/game show "The Marriage Ref" (NBC, 2009- ). In a move that was sure to endear her to even more fans, as well as burn many a calorie, in February 2011 Alley joined the celebrity cast as a contestant on the 12th season of Dancing with the Stars.
