JUST IN: Former Big Brother Star Dies Of Cancer [PHOTOS]

American actress and former Celebrity Big Brother housemate, Kirstie Alley, is dead.

According to reports, Alley died on Monday aged 71.

The cause was cancer, her children said in a statement on social media that called her “fierce and loving” and recalled her “zest and passion for life.” Ms. Alley had only recently been diagnosed and was being treated in Tampa, her family said.

The statement was also shared on Alley’s Instagram page.

The actress, a two-time Emmy winner, starred in both the long-running 1980s US sitcom and the hit film Look Who’s Talking. She was also runner-up in UK Celebrity Big Brother (in 2018).

She shot to fame after appearing in the US comedy Cheers, where she appeared as the on-off love interest of Boston bar owner Sam Malone, played by Ted Danson.

In 2010, her life was chronicled on the A&E reality TV series Kirstie Alley’s Big Life.