Kelly Preston, John Travolta’s wife dies at 57 of breast cancer

By Harriet Piercy

Published Jul 13, 2020 at 02:20 PM

Reading time: 1 minute

7609

Kelly Preston, the actress known for her role in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire died on Sunday 12 June.

Her husband of 28 years, John Travolta, posted an Instagram post on Monday that said: “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.”

Kelly Preston and John Travolta

The couple got married during a midnight ceremony in Paris in 1991 while Preston was pregnant with their first son, Jett. They went on to have two more children; a daughter Ella Bleu and another son, Benjamin.

Jett Travolta’s death

Jett Travolta died in 2009 aged 16 after having had a seizure at the family’s holiday home in the Bahamas.

The tragic event was shortly followed by a court case after the ambulance driver and his attorney were accused of trying to force the family to pay $25 million for not releasing sensitive information about their son’s death. John Travolta testified during a criminal trial, but stopped due to the severe strain that it was causing the family on top of the loss of their son.

Kelly Preston’s acting career

Preston returned to acting, with her first role being in the 2010 movie adaption of the Nicholas Sparks book, The Last Song, which starred Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth. Travolta and Preston then went on to star in the 2018 film Gotti as crime boss John Gotti and his wife Victoria. 

Kelly Preston’s cancer

While the actress had chosen to keep her diagnosis private, Preston had been undergoing medical treatment for some time. Travolta added on Instagram “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.”

Their daughter, Ella Bleu, also posted on Instagram: “I have never met anyone as courageous, strong, beautiful and loving as you.” Others have continued to pay tribute to the Travolta family, such as Gladiator star Russell Crowe, who tweeted his reminiscing of an audition together with Kelly Preston and sent his love to the family.

A family representative spoke to People magazine about Preston’s choice to keep her cancer treatment private and said “She was a bright, beautiful and loving soul who cared deeply about others and who brought life to everything she touched. Her family asks for your understanding of their need for privacy at this time.”

Keep On Reading

By Abby Amoakuh

New video game that allows men to r*pe female family members triggers backlash amid incel concerns

By Charlie Sawyer

The #MeToo movement is at risk. How the Harvey Weinstein retrial risks doing unimaginable damage 

By Charlie Sawyer

UK government’s new murder prediction tool draws comparison to Tom Cruise film, Minority Report

By Abby Amoakuh

Epstein and Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre becomes centre of conspiracy theories after revealing she has days to live

By Abby Amoakuh

What is Red Tuesday and how is it threatening relationships right before Valentine’s Day?

By Charlie Sawyer

Lawmakers pressure Trump to provide evidence that Venezuelan asylum seeker Andry Hernández Romero is still alive

By Alma Fabiani

How PUBG MOBILE’s Ptopia Design Project and World of Wonder are changing the game

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Everything you need to know about Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans’ love triangle in Materialists

By Abby Amoakuh

US gender justice group distributes Unwanted posters to warn women in Miami of Andrew Tate and get him extradited

By Annabel Smith

Is TikTok’s protect your peace trend empowering Gen Z women or causing social isolation?

By Charlie Sawyer

How Netflix’s Adolescence and Kyle Clifford’s triple murders connect to Andrew Tate

By Abby Amoakuh

Why is Heidi Montag’s song I’ll Do It trending on TikTok? Inside the plot to get The Hills star back to the top

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Inside the awful Instagram accounts exploiting stolen content to create AI Down syndrome models

By Charlie Sawyer

Creator behind controversial AI Gaza video says it was intended as Trump political satire

By Abby Amoakuh

Everybody’s talking about these White Lotus season 3 theories, and so should you

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Beyoncé and Jay-Z consider legal action after Kanye West publicly attacks the couple’s children

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

What is going on with Sky News Australia? Conspiracy theories, plagiarism, and Selena Gomez drama explained

By Charlie Sawyer

Aldi just became the first UK supermarket to provide free in-store period products and transphobes are mad

By Charlie Sawyer

Cher Lloyd reveals she was told to seduce Justin Bieber when she was a teen

By Abby Amoakuh

Why are people tagging Bad Bunny in videos of them crying? The DtMF TikTok trend explained