Kelly Preston has been taken by cancer at 57

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Kelly Preston has died. She was 57.

"On the morning of July 12, 2020, Kelly Preston, adored wife and mother, passed away following a two-year battle with breast cancer," a family representative tells PEOPLE exclusively.

"Choosing to keep her fight private, she had been undergoing medical treatment for some time, supported by her closest family and friends," the family rep says. "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."

Preston is survived by her husband John Travolta and their children: daughter Ella, 20, and 9-year-old son Benjamin. Son Jett died at age 16 in January 2009.

Preston, who was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith on October 13, 1962, in Honolulu, Hawaii, studied acting at the University of Southern California and launched her career in 1985 with her first major movie role in Mischief after several minor roles in television shows, including For Love and Honor.

In the next few years, Preston starred in films such as SpaceCamp (1986), Twins (1988), Jerry Maguire (1996) and For Love of the Game (1999). Preston's final film role was in the 2018 film Gotti in which she played Victoria Gotti, the wife of Mafia boss John Gotti, who was portrayed on screen by Travolta.

Along with her career, Preston treasured her decades-long romance with husband Travolta.

On New Year's Eve 1991, Travolta proposed at the Palace Hotel restaurant in Gstaad, Switzerland, with a six-carat yellow-and-white diamond ring. When they got married on Sept. 5, 1991, Preston was two months pregnant with their son Jett. (The couple later got married for a second time on U.S. soil in Daytona Beach, Florida.)

Last September, Travolta and Preston celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary.

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