Born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in October of 1962, Kelly Preston was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a mother who was a mental health administrator, and her father, an agriculturist. Preston is a well-known American actress and has experience in modeling. There are many things that Preston is recognized for, however, she is probably best known for the many roles and appearances she’s made, on over sixty television series and big screen films. Her celebrity husband has also kept her in the spotlight, as well as their religious beliefs, and least anyone forget, the very sad and tragic event the couple went through several years ago with the loss of a child.
1. Her first television appearance was conveniently a series based in Hawaii
Growing up in Hawaii, it would almost be fitting that she be introduced into acting by taking a role on a show based in Hawaii. Here first television appearance was on the 1980’s series. Hawaii Five-O. She then followed up with more roles on the big screen. Her first film was a part in the movie, Teen Flick Mischief, followed by Secret Admirer (1986), a movie that was critically acclaimed and thrust her career forward. You may also recognize this actress in films such as, Twins (1988), Jerry Maguire (1996), and Holy Man (1998).
2. Married to one of the biggest names in Hollywood
John Travolta hit the screens running. In his earliest years, Travolta was on a hit 70’s television comedy, Welcome Back Kotter, and when he moved to the big screen, he had roles in movies like, Carrie, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Urban Cowboy. Later big hits included; Pulp fiction and Get Shorty, plus many more. Preston and Travolta married the in-demand actor in 1991 and are till together today, happily married and raising their family.
3. Travolta was shocked to learn about his wife’s sex scene in her movie
Apparently Preston didn’t feel like her sex scene with Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, was worthy of sharing with her hubby, Travolta, so he was totally unaware until he went to the screening of the movie; his first encounter with the uncomfortable situation. At an interview on the Late, Late, Late Show With James Corden, Travolta was quoted as saying, “You don’t even know what awkward is, until you sit in the screening of Jerry Maguire and you don’t know that scene is coming up and your wife is with Tom Cruise in the middle of something that is astonishing. That’s awkward. I had no idea.” Hmmm! That must have made for some interesting dinner conversation later between the two.
4. Her father died when she was very young
Preston has definitely seen her share of tragedy in her life, starting at a young age. Her father worked for an agricultural company when Preston was a young girl. The details of the accident aren’t found, but apparently her father was involved in a drowning accident when she was just three. Her mother, Linda Carlson did go on to eventually re-marry, and to a man named Peter Palzis.
5. Her middle name has a special meaning
Being born in Honolulu, Preston was given a very special Hawaiian name. Preston’s middle name given at birth was “Kamalelehua.” In Hawaiian, it means, ‘garden of lehuas.’ What a nice way to tie her name in to her roots.
6. She was turned down for the lead role in Blue Lagoon
Blue Lagoon was a steamy movie sensation in 1980. Just before the movie was about to start looking for their characters, Preston was in Australia in the middle of doing fashion photo shoots for the fashion photographer who discovered her at the age of 16. The photographer knew about the upcoming auditions and encouraged Preston to try out for the lead role as Emmeline. According to IMDB, she went, but did not get the part due to the fact that she was considered ‘too sultry.’ She lost the part to Brooke Shields who helped to make Blue Lagoon one of the most iconic love stories of the decade.
7. She and Travolta are Scientologists
Scientology has long been one of the most controversial religions in the media. It’s been no secret that a lot of celebrities follow the Scientology ways and Kelly Preston and her husband John Travolta are big supporters of the religion. Preston has discussed her ties with the church and has credited her religion for helping her to being able to cope with the death of her son. According to The Sun, in an interview with Health Magazine, Preston was quoted as saying, “To be honest, [it was] the Scientology Center. I don’t know if I would have made it through without it.”
8. She lost her oldest son to a seizure
There’s nothing more tragic than losing a child and to show you how real celebrities are, the Travolta family had one of the hardest family tragedies to ever happen to a family. Their oldest son, Jett, was diagnosed with a disease at birth or shortly after, known as Kawasaki disease. It’s been said on Married Biography, that while the family was vacationing in the Bahamas on January 2, 2009, Jett suffered from a Grand mal seizure and died from the event. It was a year after his death that Preston gave birth to another son, Benjamin. They have a daughter who was born in 2000.
9. She’s big into charity work
Kelly Preston is a very involved celeb. She is a big believer in helping others and gets involved with a number of charity organizations. She has worked with organizations that deal with drug reform, as well as she donates her time in support of education. She has done so much work, in fact, that she has been awarded a number of awards and gained lots of recognition for her hard work.
10. Dated a few top celebrities before marrying Travolta
Before Travolta entered Preston’s life, she was linked to a number of other popular celebrities and even engaged to one. Preston was tied to George Clooney for a brief while, and she was also engaged to Charlie Sheen back in 1990. During her relationship with Charlie Sheen, she lived with him for some time, and was involved in an unfortunate situation while there, which was that she was accidentally shot while in his apartment, and obviously, things turned out okay for her, but that must have been pretty frightening for her.
