Kelly Preston’s Australian high school has described the actress as “a beautiful, down-to-earth person” after she died Sunday following a long battle with cancer.
Preston attended Pembroke School in Adelaide, South Australia from 1976 to 1978. She later went to school in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“The Pembroke community is saddened by the passing of old scholar Kelly Preston,” a representative from the school said in a statement to HuffPost Australia.
“Kelly’s classmates remember her as a beautiful, down-to-earth person and she has remained in contact with many old scholars over the years.
“Pembroke sends their deepest condolences to Mr Travolta and family during this difficult time.”
Preston’s family announced her death on Sunday. She was 57.
“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,” Preston’s husband, actor John Travolta, wrote on Instagram. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.”
Preston appeared in dozens of films and television shows, notably ‘Jerry Maguire,’ ‘Twins’ and ‘For Love of the Game.’ She met Travolta in 1987 and they married in 1991 in Paris. They had three children together. Their son, Jett, died in 2009 at the age of 16.
Preston and Travolta starred on screen in ‘Battlefield Earth’ (2000). Most recently, the couple played husband and wife John and Victoria Gotti in ‘Gotti,’ the 2018 film about the mob boss.
Travolta said his family would seek privacy in the coming months, but that he would “feel your outpouring of love” during that time.
“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,” he said. “But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal.”
Preston is survived by her husband and two children, Ella, 20, and Benjamin, 9.
With additional reporting by Nick Visser (HuffPost US).