Carrie Fisher

Carrie Frances Fisher (Burbank, California, October 21, 1956-Los Angeles, California, December 27, 2016), better known as Carrie Fisher, was an American film and television actress, writer, and screenwriter. She is known for playing Princess Leia Organa in the Star Wars films (1977-2019), a role for which she was nominated for four Saturn Awards. His 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 i> (2008). Fisher was nominated twice for a 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 named a Disney Legend in 2017, and in 2018 she received a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Spoken Album. Fisher wrote several semi-autobiographical novels, including Postcards from the Edge and a one-woman autobiographical work, and her nonfiction book, Wishful Drinking , based on the work.. She wrote the screenplay for the film version of Postcards from the Edge starring Meryl Streep as Carrie and Shirley MacLaine as her mother, Debbie Reynolds, which earned her a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and his one-man show Wishful Drinking was filmed for television and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Variety Special. Fisher worked on other writers' scripts as a screenwriter, including setting the scripts for Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), The Wedding Singer (1998) and many of the films in the Star Wars franchise, among others. He earned praise for speaking publicly about his experiences with bipolar disorder and drug addiction.

Fisher was the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. She and her mother appear in Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds , a documentary about their relationship. It premiered at the 2016 Cannes International Film Festival. Fisher died of sudden cardiac arrest on December 27, 2016, aged 60, four days after experiencing a medical emergency during a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles. One of her latest films, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was released on December 15, 2017 and is dedicated to her. Fisher appeared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) using previously unseen footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

Biography

Early Years

Carrie Fisher next to her mother, the actress, Debbie Reynolds.

Daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. She had a younger brother, actor Todd Fisher, and her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia; on her mother's side, her ancestors came from England and Ireland, of evangelical religion.

One of his jobs was in 1973 when he participated in the music video called "You're sixteen" by Ringo Starr

She appeared in a few productions with her mother before starting her first film job, when she played a young woman who seduces Warren Beatty in Hal Ashby's Shampoo (1975).

Career

Carrie Fisher with Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford in July 2015

Two years later, the role for which she would be widely recognized, Princess Leia Organa, appeared in what was initially known as Star Wars (1977), an interpretation that she reprized in sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983) and, 32 years later, in The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017) and the last of the saga The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the latter two released posthumously with never-before-seen scenes by the actress. In 1980 she appeared in The Blues Brothers.

Suffering from bipolar disorder, for which he sometimes even had to resort to electroconvulsive therapy, he began to self-medicate, which morphed into a dependency on drugs and alcohol that he tried to combat for the rest of his life, living a brief marriage to singer Paul Simon. After divorcing her, she lived with the artistic agent Bryan Lourd (1991–1994), by whom she had a daughter, the also actress Billie Lourd. But they parted ways amicably when Lourd found out that her sexual orientation was the opposite.

His film career suffered considerably, which would be reflected in the poor quality of the films he starred in, such as Under the Rainbow (1981) and Hollywood Vice Squad (1986).), except for the 1986 three-time Oscar winner Hannah and Her Sisters. Thereafter she worked as a supporting actress, in such comedies as When Harry Met Sally... (1989), Sibling Rivalry (1990) and Soapdish (1991).

She also worked as a writer, publishing in 1987 the semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the edge. In 1990 director Mike Nichols commissioned the script for the film adaptation of her book, with Meryl Streep in the role of Carrie and Shirley MacLaine in the role of her mother at a time in her life. Fisher continued to write and became famous as a specialist in improving and rewriting other people's scripts. She published other novels such as Surrender the Pink and Delusions of Grandma . In 2001 another script of his was brought to the screen: it was the telefilm These Old Broads, with a leading foursome formed by his mother Debbie Reynolds, his old enemy Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley MacLaine and Joan Collins.

Fisher went public with his drug problems, battle with bipolar disorder and addiction to anti-anxiety drugs on ABC's 20/20.

In September 2009, he published a biography called Wishful Drinking, where he narrates his experiences humorously, laughing at his tendency to alcoholism and his sentimental failures.

In one of his most revealing interviews in October 2010, while in Sydney, Australia, he confessed his strong cocaine addiction during the filming of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and that he survived an overdose. “Little by little I realized that I was using the drugs a little more than other people and that I was losing my control over them. (...) I did so much cocaine in Star Wars that even John Belushi told me I had a problem."

Death

Tribute to Fisher, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On December 23, 2016, she suffered a massive heart attack as a result of sleep apnea while on a flight from London to Los Angeles, prompting CPR. She was taken to a city medical center in serious condition. The popular American actress was on a promotional tour for her new book, The Diarist Princess .

Finally, on December 27, 2016, he passed away at UCLA Medical Center. A statement from his daughter Billie Lourd confirmed his death.

The following day, December 28, 2016, her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, died of a sudden stroke as a result of the shock the news of her death produced on her while preparing her daughter's funeral.

Following both deaths, Todd Fisher, Carrie's brother, auctioned off 1,500 personal memorabilia, including the house they lived in together, a Princess Leia action figure, the chair she used on the set of Star Wars, etc. Proceeds will go to charities The Thalians (founded by Debbie Reynolds) and The Jed Foundation, which prevents youth suicide, chosen by Billie Lourd. The funeral of the two women took place on March 25, 2017, being a prolonged private solemn ceremony attended by their family and close friends; Carrie Fisher's body was ultimately cremated, while her mother was entombed in a crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills; a portion of his ashes was buried along with the remains of Debbie Reynolds in a crypt while the other portion of his ashes rests inside an urn in the shape of a Prozac pill, alluding to his open attitude in acknowledging his health problems. addiction to drugs and mental illnesses against which he battled during his life, thus fulfilling his last wishes.

On June 16, 2017, the Los Angeles Coroner's Office reported that Carrie had passed away due to sleep apnea and other factors, including fat buildup on the arterial walls. In addition, she had already had problems with alcohol and drugs and suffered from artosclerotic heart disease.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Carrie Fisher and Wim Wenders in 1978.

BAFTA Awards

Emmy Awards

Saturn Awards