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Background
Beautiful, blonde Hollywood actress Kelly Preston is probably best known by many
as Avery Bishop in Cameron Crowe’s drama Jerry Maguire (1996), alongside Tom
Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. In addition, she gave notable performances in such
wide screen movies as Citizen Ruth (1996) and Addicted to Love (1997). However,
she received negative response and was handed a Razzie Award after taking the
role of Chirk in the sci-fi action Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000
(2000).
Improving her performance, she delivered fine acting in several big screen films
and TV series, including Daddy and Them (2001), What a Girl Wants (2003) and
“Fat Actress” (2005). Preston will appear in the musical drama Broken Bridges
(2006), playing Angela Delton for director Steven Goldmann.
Off screen, 5’ 7 inches tall Preston, whose son Jett suffers from Kawasaki’s
Syndrome, is a very active member of the Children’s Health Environmental
Coalition (CHEC), a nonprofit association aimed at the parental education toward
environmental toxins threatening children’s health. Additionally, while
attending high school, Preston did volunteer work in a nursery school, where she
taught English and basic math to immigrants.
As for her romantic life, the ex-wife of actor Kevin Gage was romantically
involved with George Clooney (together in 1988-1989) before having a brief
engagement with Charlie Sheen (1989-1990). Despite receiving a 2.5 karat diamond
ring from Sheen, Preston broke up with Sheen after she was wounded in a gunshot
accident in their apartment. Preston is now married to actor John Travolta, with
whom she raises their children, son Jett Travolta and daughter Ella Bleu
Travolta.
Mrs. Travolta
Childhood and Family:
On October 13, 1962, Kelly Kamalelehua Palzis, who would later be famous as
Kelly Preston, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to mother Linda Carlson
(mental-health administrator) and an agricultural firm employee father, who
unfortunately drowned when Kelly was three years old. In 1976, her mother
divorced her adoptive father Peter Palzis (personnel director) and later married
Lee Carlson. Kelly was raised in Hawaii, but once stayed for a year in Iraq. She
also spent two years in Australia in her teens, where she first modeled in TV
commercials.
Following her modeling activities, Kelly, who also had a special interest in
acting, studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. She then studied drama at
the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In between her schoolwork
at USC, Kelly joined auditions and began to appear on screen. In 1982, she took
a drama program at the University of California in Los Angeles, but did not
finish her studies. The following year, Kelly changed her surname Palzis to
Preston.
Kelly was married to actor Kevin Gage in 1985, but the marriage ended in
separation in 1988. After the divorce, the Scientologist actress tied the knot
with another actor, John Travolta (born on February 18, 1954), whom she met
during the filming of The Experts (1989). On September 5, 1991, the couple was
married by a French scientologist minister, but later the wedding was declared
illegal. They finally remarried on September 12, 1991, in Daytona Beach. From
the marriage, Kelly and her husband have a son named Jett Travolta (born on
April 13, 1992) and a daughter named Ella Bleu Travolta (born on April 3, 2000).
Avery Bishop
Career:
Kelly Preston began her professional career as a teenage model, when at age 16,
a photographer agent found her and put her in several TV commercials. The teen
model, with measurements 34B-24-34 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine), was
listed as one of the Elite Agency models. In between her modeling gigs, she
joined film auditions, including one for The Blue Lagoon (1980), where she tried
out for the role of Emmeline.
Preston, still credited as Kelly Palzis, had her small screen debut with a small
turn as Wendy in an episode of the famed TV series “Hawaii Five-O” (1980). She
then landed the recurring role of Gillian McCandless in the TV soap opera
“Capitol” (1982) before debuting on the wide screen as Doreen in 10 to Midnight
(1983). At this time, she began to use the surname Preston. The newcomer Preston
had her first TV film performance as Mary Lee in Gary Nelson’s military drama
For Love and Honor (1983), a role that she reprised in the NBC series “For Love
and Honor” (1983).
After her appearance in the series “Blue Thunder” (1984), Preston acquired
supporting roles in such wide screen movies as Mel Damski’s Mischief (1985, as
Marilyn McCauley), SpaceCamp (1986, played Tish Ambrosei), the spoof comedy
Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), Ivan Reitman’s comedy Twins (1988, took the
role of Marnie Mason) and The Experts (1989, as Bonnie, also starring John
Travolta). Next up for Preston, she costarred as Karen Landers, opposite Patrick
Dempsey, in Run (1991), had a small turn as Amanda Hughes in the romantic comedy
Only You (1992), appeared in the made-for-TV drama The American Clock (1993),
took the supporting role of the sensual Vera Blanchard in the thriller Double
Cross (1994) and played the young Rose Munck in the drama comedy Mrs. Munck
(1995).
The actress earned more popularity when director Cameron Crowe chose her to play
Avery Bishop in the romantic drama Jerry Maguire (1996), where Tom Cruise, Cuba
Gooding Jr. and Renee Zellweger were among the cast members. Preston also
attracted attention with her turn as Rachel in the drama comedy Citizen Ruth
(1996) and offered a beautiful acting job in the romantic comedy Addicted to
Love (1997), in which she costarred alongside Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick.
Soon, Preston was on the producer’s hot list and acquired the female leading
role of Gabby Frost in the family drama Jack Frost (1998), opposite Michael
Keaton. She was also cast in the starring role of Jane Aubrey, the lover of a
washed-up baseball player, in Sam Raimi’s sport drama For the Love of Game
(1999). Her appearance as Chirk in sci-fi action Battlefield Earth: A Saga of
the Year 3000 (2000), however, did not gain the same recognition. Instead, she
was handed a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress. Preston bounced back with a
better role as Rose in Billy Bob Thornton’s dark comedy Daddy and Them (2001).
After taking a two-year break to focus on her family, Preston returned to the
screen and with supporting roles in View from the Top (as Sherry), What a Girl
Wants (played the mother Libby Reynolds) and the film adaptation of The Cat in
the Hat. The next year, she took the part of a lesbian named Lucy Collins in the
black comedy Eulogy before guest starring as Donna Di Gregorio in two episodes
of the NBC series “Joey.”
In 2005, Preston costarred with Kurt Russell in Walt Disney’s family comedy Sky
High. The same year, she also returned to the small screen with the recurring
role of Quinn Taylor Scott in the sitcom “Fat Actress” (2005). Preston is set to
play Angela Delton in the Steven Goldmann-helmed musical drama Broken Bridges
(2006). The movie, about a country singer going home, will also feature Toby
Keith, Burt Reynolds and BeBe Winans.
Awards:
- Razzie: Worst Supporting Actress, Battlefield Earth: A Saga Of The Year
3000, 2001
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