Sadly, Carrie Fisher died December 27, 2016, after suffering a heart attack on a flight between London and Los Angeles on December 23, 2016. She was returning to Los Angeles after working in Europe and promoting her eighth book, The Princess Diarist. She was 60.
“It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,” read a statement released by the family. “She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”
Born in Beverly Hills, California, in 1956, her parents Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds were Hollywood royalty. She may be best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars saga, but Fisher was so much more than that.
Fisher made her debut in the movie Shampoo in 1975 alongside Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn and made memorable appearances in films through the years that weren’t Star Wars, including: The Blues Brothers, When Harry Met Sally, Soapdish, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, The Burbs, Drop Dead Fred and Scream 3 in which she plays a person who gets regularly mistaken for Carrie Fisher.
Here are ten surprising facts you may not know about the one and only Carrie Fisher:
She was a sought-after script doctor
Among the scripts the good doctor rewrote and punched up without credit: Sister Act,Hook, The Wedding Singer, The River Wild, Coyote Ugly, Kate & Leopold, Lethal Weapon 3, and Young Indiana Jones.
She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Fisher started struggling with bipolar disorder at a young age. “My illness took hold when I was 14 or 15 years old — my father had it too,” she wrote in her 2008 biography, Wishful Drinking. “I went to a doctor [who diagnosed her with bipolar disorder in her 20s] and said, ‘I felt normal on acid,’ and he said that is consistent with what we know of the manic state.”
She brought her French bulldog, Gary, everywhere
The iconic actress and writer took her cherished therapy bulldog and companion, Gary with her everywhere. Including when she did press.
She battled drug addiction while filming The Empire Strikes Back
Years later, the actress was very open about her drug past. “We did cocaine on the set of [The] Empire [Strikes Back], in the ice planet,” she wrote in Wishful Drinking. “I didn’t even like coke that much. It was just a case of getting on whatever train I needed to take to get high.”
Fisher had to stand on a box in scenes with Harrison Ford
The two actors had a big height difference, which doesn’t work on camera. (Ford is 6ft while Fisher was 5ft 1in) Because of this, she had to stand on a box when working with him.
Dan Aykroyd saved her life and she almost married him in return
Fisher starred in The Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Belushi set her up with Aykroyd (whom she calls Danny, by the way), and after a Brussels sprout-related mishap, the two ended up engaged. “I almost choked on some kind of vegetable that I shouldn’t have been eating: Brussels sprouts!” Fisher said. “So he had to give me the Heimlich maneuver. He saved my life, and then he asked me to marry him. And I thought… wow, what if that happens again? I should probably marry him.”
Fisher had a long relationship with Paul Simon. They got married in 1983 after years of dating off and on, but it only lasted a year. He ended up writing a song about their relationship.
Meryl Streep portrayed a character based on her
In 1990 Meryl Streep starred in Postcards From The Edge with Shirley MacLaine and Dennis Quaid. The screenplay by Carrie Fisher was based on her 1987 semi- autobiographical novel of the same title.
Billie Lourd is her daughter
The actress plays Chanel #3 on Scream Queens. She also got a small cameo in The Force Awakens. Her father is American talent agent Bryan Lourd. He was never married to Fisher, but they were together from 1991-1994.
She planned her obituary
In her 2008 memoir, Wishful Drinking, she proposed that her own obituary be based on a conversation she had with George Lucas about whether there was underwear in space, and whether it should be seen under her Princess Leia gown. She thought it should read, “Carrie Fisher dies at 60, drowned in moonlight, strangled by her own bra.”
