Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. Fisher played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, a role for which she was nominated for four Saturn Awards. Her other film credits include Shampoo (1975), The Blues Brothers (1980), Hannah and Her Sisters(1986), The 'Burbs (1989), When Harry Met Sally... (1989), Soapdish (1991), and The Women (2008). Fisher was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performances on the television series 30 Rock and Catastrophe. She was posthumously made a Disney Legend in 2017, and in 2018 she was awarded a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Early life
Carrie Frances Fisher was born on October 21, 1956, in Burbank, California, to actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher. Fisher's paternal grandparents were Russian-Jewish immigrants, while her mother, who was raised a Nazarene, was of Scots-Irish and English descent.
Fisher was two years old when her parents divorced in 1959. Her father's third marriage, to actress Connie Stevens, resulted in the births of Fisher's two half-sisters, Joely Fisherand Tricia Leigh Fisher. In 1960, her mother married Harry Karl, owner of a chain of shoe stores. Reynolds and Karl divorced in 1973 when Fisher was 17 years old.
Fisher "hid in books" as a child, becoming known in her family as "the bookworm." She spent her earliest years reading classic literature and writing poetry. She attended Beverly Hills High School until age 16, when she appeared as a debutante and singer in the hit Broadway revival Irene (1973), starring her mother. Her time on Broadway interfered with her education, resulting in Fisher's dropping out of high school. In 1973, Fisher enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, which she attended for 18 months. Following her time there, Fisher was accepted at Sarah Lawrence College, where she planned to study the arts. She later left without graduating.
Death and legacy
After finishing the European leg of her book tour (her last TV appearance was on an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats broadcast December 21, 2016) Fisher was on a commercial flight on December 23, 2016, from London to Los Angeles when she suffered a medical emergency around fifteen minutes before the aircraft landed. A passenger seated near Fisher reported that she had stopped breathing; another passenger performed CPR on Fisher until paramedics arrived at the scene. Emergency services in Los Angeles were contacted when the flight crew reported a passenger unresponsive prior to landing. Fisher was taken by ambulance to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where she was placed on a ventilator.
On the morning of December 27, 2016, after being in intensive care for four days, Fisher died at the age of 60 at the UCLA Medical Center. Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, confirmed her mother's death in a statement to the press. Many of her co-stars and directors from Star Wars and other works also shared their thoughts on her death.
On January 9, 2017, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a death certificate that stated "cardiac arrest/deferred" as the cause of death. More tests were expected. In a June 16, 2017, news release, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said that the exact cause of death could not be determined, but sleep apnea and the buildup of fatty tissue on the walls of arteries were among the contributing factors. A full report from June 19, 2017, stated that Fisher had cocaine in her system, as well as traces of heroin, other opiates, and MDMA. The report also stated that the investigation was unable to determine when she had taken the drugs, and whether they contributed to her death. Her daughter Billie Lourd stated that Fisher "battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.... I know my Mom, she'd want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles."
The day after Fisher's death, her mother Debbie Reynolds suffered a stroke at the home of son Todd, where the family was planning Fisher's burial arrangements. She was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she died later that afternoon.According to Todd Fisher, Reynolds had said, "I want to be with Carrie" immediately prior to suffering the stroke. On January 5, 2017, a joint private memorial was held for Fisher and Reynolds. Fisher was crematedwhile her mother was entombed. A portion of her ashes were laid to rest beside Reynolds in a crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills. The remainder of those ashes are held in a giant, novelty Prozacpill.
In the absence of a star for Fisher on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, fans created their own memorial using a blank star. Along with flowers and candles, words put on the blank star read, "Carrie Fisher / May The Force Be With You Always / Hope". Fans also gathered at the Yoda fountain outside the Lucasfilm offices in San Francisco. In the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic, thousands of fans paid tribute to Fisher by gathering at House Organa on the planet Alderaan where Fisher's character in Star Wars resided.Lightsaber vigils and similar events in Fisher's honor were held at various Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas theaters and other sites.On January 6, 2017, the lights on Broadway in Manhattan were darkened for one minute in honor of Fisher and her mother. Fisher and Reynolds were also both featured in the 89th Academy Awards In Memoriam segment.On March 25, 2017, a public memorial for mother and daughter was held at the Hall of Liberty theater in Forest Lawn Memorial Park. The event was streamed live on Reynolds' website. On April 14, a special tribute to Fisher was held by Mark Hamill during the Star WarsCelebration in Orlando. The 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi was dedicated to her memory.
In June 2021, it was announced that Fisher would receive an official star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022.
Roles
