Carrie Fisher

Background

Carrie Fisher undeniably left her mark on the film industry. Born October 21, 1956, in Burbank, California, the American beauty’s parents are singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. Fisher was of Russian, Scottish, Irish and Jewish descent. While the actress had a star-studded life onscreen, it wasn’t always roses and butterflies in her personal life. Fisher’s parents divorced when she was two years old, after which her mother went on to remarry and divorce when Fisher was 17 years old. The young girl was dubbed the bookworm of the family as she found solace in her volumes as a child. Fisher dropped out of Beverly Hills High School at 16 to pursue a career on Broadway.

She picked up her education later on when she enrolled in London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, and then, at Sarah Lawrence College. She didn’t finish her studies, however. Her first film role was as Lorna Karpf in the film, “Shampoo” (1975), but it was her 1977 role portraying Princess Leia in “Star Wars” that put her on the map. From then on she went on to feature in a laundry list of films, including “Ringo” (1978), “Leave Yesterday Behind,” (1978), and “Drop Dead Fred” (1991), among others. Fisher continued acting on Broadway while doing onscreen work. In between acting on screen and on Broadway, Fisher authored and published her first novel “Postcards from the Edge.” She then adapted the semi-autobiographical book to screen in 1990, with Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, and Dennis Quaid playing the lead.

Fisher continued to feature and make cameos in several well-known films, including “Scream 3” (2000) and “Entourage” (2010). She’s been linked to a number of celebrities, including Harrison Ford, Paul Simon, and Dan Aykroyd. Fisher did end up, however, marrying Paul Simon from 1983 to 1984. She then dated and had a daughter, Billie, with Creative Artists Agency executive Bryan Lourd. Fisher was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which she was open about and occasionally discussed on talk shows. She also struggled with drug abuse, which she spoke about in her memoir, “Wishful Drinking” (2008). Fisher passed away in December 2016, at the age of 60, at UCLA Medical Center, having suffered a cardiac arrest.