Kirstie Alley's Daughter Lillie Parker Celebrates Her Late Mother's Birthday: 'Wish You Were Here'
Kirstie Alley would have turned 72 on Thursday, and her 28-year-old daughter took to Instagram to remember her late mother.
Lillie Parker posted a throwback photo of the late Cheers star and succinctly expressed how she feels just over a month after Alley died following a short battle with colon cancer.
"happy birthday mama ❤️ wish you were her," Parker captioned the post.
While the post was limited on who could drop a comment, friends and family raced to express well wishes to Parker. One person commented, "Think of you and your beautiful mom. Sending love." Another person wrote, "Such a babe!! Sending lots of love Lillie❤️."
The sweet birthday tribute was Parker's first post since announcing Alley's death.
According to a statement penned by Lillie and her sister, True, 30, Alley died on Dec. 5 following a short battle with cancer. Per Alley's family, she was surrounded by her closest family as she fought the disease -- only recently discovered.
"To all our friends, far and wide around the world," the statement began. "We are sad to inform you that our incredible fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered.
"She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead. As iconic as she was on-screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother," the statement continued.
Alley rose to fame in 1987 when she starred as Rebecca Howe on NBC's Cheers. She earned a Golden Globe for Best Actress and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for the role in 1991.
Remembering Kirstie Alley: John Travolta, Ted Danson and More Pay Tribute to the Late Star
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Remembering Kirstie Alley: John Travolta, Ted Danson and More Pay Tribute to the Late Star
Ted Danson, who played Sam Malone on the iconic series, was among her Cheers co-stars who remembered Alley following her death.
"I was on a plane today and did something I rarely do. I watched an old episode of Cheers. It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie, who keeps saying no, even though she desperately wants to say yes. Kirstie was truly brilliant in it," the actor said in a statement to ET.
"Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both moving and hysterically funny. She made me laugh 30 years ago when she shot that scene, and she made me laugh today just as hard," Danson continued. "As I got off the plane, I heard that Kirstie had died. I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh. I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her."
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