Alley won a supporting role in the 1982 movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, playing Vulcan officer Lieutenant Saavik. Alley turned down the role of Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock because the producers would not meet her salary demands and because she didn't want to be typecast as a science fiction actress. Therefore, Robin Curtis assumed the role. Alley also co-starred in a short-lived secret agent television series, Masquerade, and in the acclaimed miniseries North and South.

In 1984, Alley starred in the low budget theatrical film Blind Date. Although the movie was a critical and commercial failure at the time, it has become a minor cult classic due primarily to the only on-screen nude scene of Alley's career.

She rose to prominence in her 1987–1993 role as the neurotic corporate executive Rebecca Howe on the long-running hit TV sitcom Cheers. While Cheers was the launching pad for the successful spin-off Frasier, Alley was the only regular actor fr