Star Wars Rebel Princess, Carrie Fisher, Passes Away At the Age of 60
“I don't want my life to imitate art, I want my life to be art”.
I remember the first time I saw Star Wars: A New Hope. I was six years old and watching the re-releases in a Southern Californian theater. At this point in time, there were not a ton of strong, female characters in science fiction and fantasy for me to admire or emulate. This all changed with Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. Not only did she put the often whiny and snarky male characters in their place, but she was a compelling, respected leader for a cause she believed in.
Carrie Fisher passed away today at the age of sixty, after suffering from a heart attack last Friday on a flight from London to Los Angeles. In a statement released on behalf of Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd, spokesman Simon Halls said: "It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”
Fisher was born on December 21st, 1956 in Beverly Hills, California to singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. Fisher “hid in books” as a child and enjoyed reading classic literature and writing poetry. At the age of 15, she appeared as a debutante and singer in the hit Broadway revival Irene, which starred her mother. Fisher never finished high school, but was nevertheless accepted at Sarah Lawrence College, where she planned to study the arts. She did not graduate due to her acting conflicts.
Fisher was best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series. The strong and independent character of Princess Leia inspired a surge of similar characters over the last forty years. Fisher was also an inspiration outside of the over thirty films she participated in. Her semi-autobiographical novels and her autobiographical one-woman play addressed head-on her bipolar disorder and her addictions to cocaine and prescription medications. This past year, Harvard gave Fisher its Annual Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism, because "Her forthright activism and outspokenness about addiction, mental illness, and agnosticism have advanced public discourse on these issues with creativity and empathy.”
May the force be with you, Carrie Fisher. The world has lost an incredible actress, writer, and human being.
I remember the first time I saw Star Wars: A New Hope. I was six years old and watching the re-releases in a Southern Californian theater. At this point in time, there were not a ton of strong, female characters in science fiction and fantasy for me to admire or emulate. This all changed with Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. Not only did she put the often whiny and snarky male characters in their place, but she was a compelling, respected leader for a cause she believed in.
Carrie Fisher passed away today at the age of sixty, after suffering from a heart attack last Friday on a flight from London to Los Angeles. In a statement released on behalf of Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd, spokesman Simon Halls said: "It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”
Fisher was born on December 21st, 1956 in Beverly Hills, California to singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. Fisher “hid in books” as a child and enjoyed reading classic literature and writing poetry. At the age of 15, she appeared as a debutante and singer in the hit Broadway revival Irene, which starred her mother. Fisher never finished high school, but was nevertheless accepted at Sarah Lawrence College, where she planned to study the arts. She did not graduate due to her acting conflicts.
May the force be with you, Carrie Fisher. The world has lost an incredible actress, writer, and human being.
