The iconic Carrie Fisher was born on October 21, 1956 in Burbank, California, the launchpad for her decades of work not just as Princess Leia in Star Wars, but as a celebrated memoirist, film star, devoted mom to Billie Lourd, and courageous spokeswoman for struggles with mental illness and addiction. As we celebrate the late Fisher’s birthday once again, four years after her passing, we can find joy in knowing that her memory will live on not only with the public but with daughter Billie and newborn grandson Kingston Fisher Lourd Rydell. Billie secretly welcomed Kingston in September after a totally incognito pregnancy but we swear we can already see Carrie’s features on that barely-month-old face.
It was daughter Billie who broke the tragic news of her mom’s passing in 2016, confirming to People on Dec. 27 that her mother had suffered a heart attack during a flight. And while Star Wars fans lit the fuse that carried Fisher to stardom, it’s been heartening to see how the beloved actress’s complex legacy has been maintained. Like so many stars who become tied to an iconic role, Fisher must have worried that she wouldn’t be able to break out — but her raw 2008 novel Postcards on the Edge, and her later memoirs Wishful Drinking and The Princess Diarist showed just how much more Fisher had to say.
In the course of her career, Fisher’s frankness about her bipolar disorder diagnosis and drug abuse was a rare light for a community of people often afraid to make themselves known for fear of being rejected. Her firsthand accounts of prescription drug addiction, manic episodes, and more demystified an epidemic that thousands have been affected by and not had the language to address, and her fans adored her for it.
Above all else, Fisher was an artist — and a damn good one. From her many high-profile romances to her bombshell books, find out everything about the woman behind the gold bikini right here.
Hollywood royalty
Carrie Fisher was born into Hollywood royalty as the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds on Oct. 21, 1956. While life might have seemed easy from the photos in entertainment magazines and promotional photos, Fisher watched her family torn apart when her dad left Reynolds for her best friend, Elizabeth Taylor, in 1958.
Enters the family business
Carrie Fisher went into the family business and decided to become an actress. She attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London for a year before returning to Hollywood.
She made a splash in her film debut in 1975 in Shampoo starring Warren Beatty. Fisher never looked back on her decision to go into acting because Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope was just around the corner.
The trilogy that started it all
Her legacy in Hollywood was sealed when she starred in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope in 1977 alongside Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. The film not only gave sci-fi fans the ultimate story of good vs. evil, it also gave women a powerful hero to look up to.
Princess Leia was stubborn, strong and smart, just like Fisher in real life. The character never backed down from a fight and she became one of the first female superheroes in Hollywood history.
Rocky first marriage
It was a rocky road to the altar for Fisher and singer Paul Simon. They dated on and off from 1977 until their marriage in 1983. In between their breakups, Fisher was briefly engaged to actor Dan Aykroyd.
Simon and Fisher’s marriage was brief, ending after only 11 months. However, the two weren’t finished after their divorce, they dated one more time until they finally called it quits.
An iconic film
Fisher was not limited to the Star Wars franchise. She branched into comedy and had a hilarious turn in 1989’s When Harry Met Sally. The witty banter of the characters was up her alley and suited her quirky sense of humor well.
Watch the scene of a double date gone wrong from the film and you see how underappreciated Fisher’s comedic abilities were.
From acting to writing
Acting wasn’t Fisher’s only interest. Her writing talents took a front seat when her 1987 semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the Edge was adapted into a screenplay. The 1990 film, starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacClaine, focused on a troubled mother-daughter relationship after the daughter goes to rehab after a drug overdose.
Fisher’s own sobriety was the topic of many of her books, including Wishful Drinking. It was a habit that started in the late ’70s and took her decades to combat.
In 2010, she talked to the Daily Mail about using whatever drug was available at the time: “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.”
Apple of her eye
In 1992, Fisher gave birth to Billie Catherine Lourd while she was in a relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd. Her daughter has stayed in the family business by starring in TV’s Scream Queens and a small role in The Force Awakens.
Fisher split with her daughter’s father, who is bisexual. He is now married to the man he left Fisher for, Bruce Bozzi.
Advocate for mental illness
Carrie Fisher became one of Hollywood’s biggest advocates for mental illness after her own bipolar admission in 2001. She talked about the toll it has taken in her life to People in 2013.
“The only lesson for me, or anybody, is that you have to get help. It’s not a neat illness. It doesn’t go away,” she said. “I’m just lucky this hasn’t happened more. [In the future] I don’t know if there are setbacks or steps forward. I’m not embarrassed.”
Gary the dog
To help her deal with her bipolar disorder, Carrie adopted a therapy dog by the name of Gary. He has been her constant companion and source of comfort over the last few years. He was on the flight when Fisher went into cardiac arrest.
In a heartbreaking message on his fan-run Twitter account, Gary wrote, “Saddest tweets to tweet. Mommy is gone. I love you @carriefisher.”
Always claps back
Fisher was never shy about her beliefs or opinions, and last year she tweeted on the criticism she received about her looks in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
“Please stop debating about whether OR not aged well.unfortunately it hurts all of my feelings. My BODY hasn’t aged as well as I have. Blow us,” she wrote.
She spoke up for women in Hollywood who are tired of the double standard of men being allowed to get older, while women have to stay forever 25.
The affair
Her final book The Princess Diarist made a lot of waves when she admitted that she had an affair with Harrison Ford on the set of Star Wars when she was 19 years old.
She wrote, “It was Han and Leia during the week, and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend.”
Ford never commented on her revealing admission because he was married to his first wife, Mary Marquardt, at the time. However, Fisher was unapologetic about their long-ago affair.
“I’m surprised at the reaction,” she admitted to the Today show Monday morning. “I don’t think it is that surprising.”
Her grandson was born in 2020
A little under four years after Carrie’s passing, daughter Billie welcomed baby boy Kingston with fiancée Austen Rydell. We’ll have to wait and see whether Kingston becomes the fourth generation of actors in the Fisher fam…but one way or another, we bet a bit of Carrie will come shining through.
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