Kelly Preston, actress, mother, and wife of John Travolta, has died at 57 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. Travolta announced his wife’s passing on Instagram in the late hours of Sunday, July 12 along with a touching tribute and a request for privacy. According to a family representative’s statement to People, Preston died early on Sunday morning and that she “had been undergoing medical treatment for some time, supported by her closest family and friends.”
- Preston was an accomplished actress. She’s starred in more than 72 films and TV shows throughout her nearly 40 year career. Her first role was in 1980 on an episode of Hawaii Five-O. Most recently, she appeared in CSI: Cyber and the mob film Gotti alongside Travolta.
- She chose to keep her diagnosis private. The reason Kelly Preston’s death has come as such a shock to so many is that no one in the general public ever knew she was sick. Preston understandably chose to keep her diagnosis as well as her ongoing battle with the illness private.
- Travolta’s message was incredibly beautiful. “>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,” he wrote on Instagram. “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.
- He requested time for himself and his children to process the loss. “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,” he wrote in the post. “But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal.”
