Kelly Preston

Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress. She appeared in more than 60 television and film productions, including Mischief (1985), Twins (1988), Jerry Maguire (1996), and For Love of the Game (1999). She married John Travolta in 1991, and collaborated with him on the comedy film The Experts (1989) and the biographical film Gotti (2018). She also starred in the films SpaceCamp (1986), The Cat in the Hat (2003), What a Girl Wants (2003), Sky High (2005), and Old Dogs (2009).

Early life

Kelly Kamalelehua Smith ("Kelly" is a name of Celtic origin, and the middle name "Kamalelehua" means "garden of lehuas" in Hawaiian) was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center. Her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when she was four years old. Her mother subsequently married Peter Palzis, a personnel director. He adopted her, and she used his name at the start of her acting career. She also had a younger half-brother, Chris Palzis.

As a child, she lived in Iraq, and also Australia, where she attended Pembroke School, Adelaide. She then attended Punahou School in Honolulu, graduating in 1980, and studied drama and theater at the University of Southern California.

Career

While living in Australia, she was discovered at age 16 by a fashion photographer who helped her get work in commercials and other small parts. He arranged her first film audition for the role of Emmeline in The Blue Lagoon (1980), which she lost to the younger Brooke Shields. At that time she changed her last name to Preston.