The Funeral and Casket Details of Kelly Preston

Introduction

Kelly Preston died on Sunday 12 July 2020 at her family home in Clearwater, Florida. She was 57. Her husband, John Travolta, shared the news the next day, writing that she had lost a two year battle with breast cancer that she had chosen to keep almost entirely private.

Very few people outside her family knew she was ill, so the news arrived without any warning for her fans. Her farewell was kept just as quiet. Here is what was confirmed about her final days, her cremation and the tributes that followed, and what has never been made public.

The Life and Legacy of Kelly Preston

She was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith on 13 October 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and worked as a model before moving into acting in the 1980s. Her breakout came in 1988 with Twins, the comedy that paired Arnold Schwarzenegger with Danny DeVito. Over the next three decades she built dozens of film and television credits, and she was always the warm presence at the centre of a scene rather than the one shouting for attention.

Her best known role came in 1996 as Avery Bishop, the sharp and ambitious fiancée Tom Cruise leaves behind in Jerry Maguire. She went on to play opposite Kevin Costner in For Love of the Game in 1999, and she appeared in What a Girl Wants and The Cat in the Hat, both in 2003. Music fans remember her from the Maroon 5 video for "She Will Be Loved" in 2004. She met John Travolta while filming The Experts, and the two married in a midnight ceremony in Paris in 1991. In 2018 she worked beside him again, playing Victoria Gotti in Gotti.

The News of Kelly Preston's Passing

John Travolta announced her death on Instagram. "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," he wrote. "She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many." He thanked the doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she had been treated, along with the other medical centres and friends who had helped her.

He ended the post with a line that set the tone for everything that came after. "Kelly's love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother." The family had kept her illness private for two years, and they kept her farewell private too. Her death certificate, reported the following month, confirmed that she died at home in Clearwater with breast cancer as the cause.

The Funeral Arrangements for Kelly Preston

No public funeral or memorial service was announced for Kelly Preston. The family did not share a date, a venue or a guest list, and no credible outlet has reported one since. Whatever goodbye took place was held privately among the people closest to her, which fits the way she had handled the last two years of her life.

What is on record comes from her death certificate, which was reported by Extra, Fox News and the International Business Times in August 2020. After she died, her body was taken to a nearby funeral home and she was then cremated in Brooksville, Florida, a short drive north of Clearwater. The family has not said where her ashes are kept.

The Casket Details of Kelly Preston

No casket maker, model or material has been made public for Kelly Preston, and with a private farewell and a cremation it is unlikely one ever will be. Her death certificate records how she was laid to rest, not what she was laid to rest in. No urn has been described publicly either.

Many families choosing cremation still hold a viewing or a small service first, using a simple cremation casket or a rental casket, and then choose an urn for the ashes to keep at home. There is no public account of which of those choices Kelly Preston's family made. If you are weighing up the same decisions for someone you love, our guide to different types of celebrity caskets explains the main options, and our cremation urns collection shows the range of materials and styles families choose for a loved one's ashes.

Attendees and Eulogies

Because no service was made public, there is no confirmed list of attendees and no eulogy has been published. The closest thing to a eulogy came from her daughter, Ella, who wrote on Instagram: "I have never met anyone as courageous, strong, beautiful and loving as you."

Friends and co-stars paid tribute in public instead. Olivia Newton-John, who starred with John Travolta in Grease, told Entertainment Tonight: "Kelly was a radiant, warm and gentle spirit, a loving, devoted wife, mother and sweet friend. My heart breaks for John, Ella and Ben." Russell Crowe remembered her as "such a lovely person" and "the same sparkly eyed gem" every time he saw her, and Maria Shriver called her "a bright loving soul, a talented actress, and a loving mom and wife."

The Impact on Fans and the Industry

The shock was the thing people talked about most. Kelly Preston had not been out of public life, and she had never mentioned an illness, so fans who had grown up with Twins and Jerry Maguire learned of her cancer and her death in the same moment. Actors who had worked with her early in their careers came forward to say how kind she had been. Daniel Dae Kim said she "couldn't have been warmer or kinder to a young, nervous actor trying to make good," and Josh Gad said he was sad to hear of her passing at such a young age.

Her death also put a spotlight on how many people live with breast cancer quietly. She worked, raised her children and kept her treatment out of the news for two years. For a lot of fans, the realisation that someone so visible had been going through it privately was what stayed with them.

Legacy and Remembering Kelly Preston

Her family has kept her memory in public view on their own terms. In October 2020, on what would have been her 58th birthday, John Travolta shared their wedding photo next to one of his own parents' wedding, writing "Happy Birthday hon!" He has marked her birthday and Mother's Day on social media in the years since, and Ella has shared her own tributes on the same dates.

In an interview with Esquire Spain in April 2021, reported by ABC News, Travolta spoke about how he had grieved. "Mourning is individual and experiencing your own journey is what can lead to healing," he said, adding that the best thing you can do for someone who is mourning is to "allow them to live it." It is a fitting way to remember a woman whose own last chapter was lived so privately, and whose films are still easy to find and still easy to love.

Conclusion

Kelly Preston spent the last two years of her life doing what she wanted, which was to keep her illness between herself and the people she loved. Her family carried that wish through to the end, with no public funeral, a cremation close to home in Florida, and no details shared beyond what the law required on her death certificate.

That privacy was a choice, and it is one any family can make. Knowing whether you want burial or cremation, a service or none, and who should be there takes a lot of weight off the people left behind. Writing down your funeral wishes or pre-planning a casket is a quiet way to make those choices yourself. You can read more farewells in our celebrity caskets and funerals collection, including actresses who also lost their lives to breast cancer, Suzanne Somers and Shannen Doherty.

Sources

• NPR, "Kelly Preston, Actress And Wife Of John Travolta, Dead At 57", 13 July 2020
• NBC News, "Actress Kelly Preston dies after two-year battle with breast cancer", 13 July 2020
• PBS NewsHour, "Kelly Preston, actor and wife of John Travolta, dies at 57", 13 July 2020
• CBS Los Angeles, "Actress Kelly Preston Dies At 57 After Breast Cancer Battle", 13 July 2020
• TODAY, "John Travolta announces wife Kelly Preston dies after battle with breast cancer", 13 July 2020
• Variety, "Kelly Preston Dies: Hollywood Pays Tribute", 13 July 2020
• Deadline, "Ella Travolta Pays Tribute To Mom Kelly Preston In Poignant Message", July 2020
• Fox News, "Kelly Preston: John Travolta's Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John says her heart breaks over the loss", July 2020
• Extra, "What Kelly Preston's Death Certificate Reveals About Her Final Hours", 19 August 2020
• Fox News, "Kelly Preston's death certificate reveals she died at Florida home: report", August 2020
• International Business Times, "Kelly Preston's Death Certificate Reveals Actress Died At Her Family's Florida Home", August 2020
• TODAY, "John Travolta posts wedding photo in honor of late wife Kelly Preston's birthday", October 2020
• ABC News, "John Travolta opens up on his grief after losing wife Kelly Preston", April 2021