CARRIE FISHER PASSES AWAY …
Actress, author and producer Carrie Fisher – whose iconic portrayal of princess Leia Organa in the Star Wars’ film franchise made her a global superstar – died over the Christmas holidays.
She was sixty years old.
Fisher went into cardiac arrest on a December 23 flight from London to Los Angeles. Paramedics rushed her to a hospital, where she was placed on a ventilator in intensive care.
She died early Tuesday morning …
Fisher was only nineteen years old when Star Wars was released in 1977. She went on to appear in the blockbuster’s equally successful sequels – The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
In Return of the Jedi her character Leia donned her famous “slave girl bikini,” which along with her signature headphone hair buns has endured as one of the defining visuals of the Star Wars franchise.
After her Star Wars career, Fisher went on to appear in movies like The ‘Burbs, When Harry Met Sally and Postcards from the Edge, a film adaptation of her 1987 novel.
Last year she appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will be posthumously credited for an appearance in next year’s Star Wars: Episode VIII.
Earlier this year Fisher released an autobiography entitled The Princess Diarist, in which she confessed to having a three-month affair with Star Wars co-star Harrison Ford in 1976 during the filming of the first movie.
“I wasn’t raised that way,” Fisher said of her romance with the married 33-year-old actor. “But when you’re on location – this is something I discovered – everything is permitted.”
Fisher is survived by her mother, former Hollywood actress and singer Debbie Reynolds, and her brother – actor and cinematographer Todd Fisher. She also has a 24-year-old daughter named Billie Lourd who is an actress.
(Banner via Lucasfilm)