Kelly Preston, actor and wife of John Travolta, dies aged 57 from breast cancer

Kelly Preston, who played dramatic and comic foil to actors ranging from Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire to Arnold Schwarzenegger in Twins, has died, her husband, John Travolta, said. She was 57.

Travolta said in an Instagram post that his wife of 28 years, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, died on Sunday.

“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,” Travolta said. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.”

The couple had three children together.

Preston had a lengthy acting career in movies and television, at times appearing together in films with her husband, including in Battlefield Earth in 2000.

Preston starred opposite Kevin Costner in the 1999 film For the Love of the Game, and in 2004 appeared in the music video for Maroon 5’s She Will Be Loved.

She had frequent guest-starring roles on TV series including Medium, CSI: Cyber and Joey.

Preston and Travolta were married at a midnight ceremony in Paris in 1991 when the couple were expecting their first son, Jett. They had two children, daughter Ella Bleu in 2000 and a son, Benjamin, in 2010.

Jett died aged 16 in January 2009 after a seizure at the family’s holiday home in the Bahamas. The death led to a court case after an ambulance driver and his attorney were accused of trying to extort $25m from the actors in exchange for not releasing sensitive information about their son’s death.

Travolta testified during a criminal trial that ended in a mistrial and was prepared to testify a second time, but decided to stop pursuing the case. He cited the severe strain the case and his son’s death had caused the family.

Both Preston and Travolta returned to acting, with Preston’s first role back the Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Last Song, which starred Miley Cyrus and her future husband, Liam Hemsworth.

Travolta and Preston met while filming The Experts in 1988.
They last starred together in the 2018 film Gotti, with Travolta playing John Gotti and Preston playing the crime bosss wife, Victoria.

Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered, Travolta wrote on Instagram. He added: “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. But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal.”

Preston’s death was first reported by People magazine.