Kirstie Alley Sets The Record Straight, Says She’s “Forever Grateful” For Star Trek

On Monday, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan star Kirstie Alley turned 64.

The actress, who made her feature film debut playing Saavik in the film, was offered the chance to reprise the role in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, but declined to return. Following unfruitful contract and salary negotiations, director and star Leonard Nimoy decided to instead to recast the role of Saavik — ultimately hiring Robin Curtis to play the female Vulcan.

Alley would go on to have a very successful career, best known for her role as Rebecca Howe on Cheers.

As we do with many former Star Trek actors, we wished Alley a happy birthday on Twitter. Our tweet was met with a myriad of responses from fans, one of which said that she “has pretty much disavowed that she has ever appeared in this movie (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan).”

Alley personally responded and set the record straight, saying: “That’s not true..Star Trek was my first job and one of the most stunning moments of my life…forever grateful.”

@kittykat_kiki @TrekNewsnet That's not true..Star Trek was my first job and one of the most stunning moments of my life…forever grateful

— Kirstie Alley (@kirstiealley) January 12, 2015

You can follow Kirstie Alley on Twitter at @kirstiealley. You can follow TrekNews.net at @TrekNewsnet.