Carrie Fisher, Star Wars Icon, Dies at Age 60

Fisher will be remembered for far more than just her work in Star Wars.

By Terri Schwartz

Carrie Fisher has passed away at age 60, her family confirmed in a statement.

Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd released a statement through the family spokesman Simon Halls confirming her mother's death to People.

“It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,” reads the statement. “She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”

Carrie Fisher stars as General Leia in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Star Wars actress suffered a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest while on a flight on December 23rd. She was hospitalized, and died several days later in a Los Angeles hospital.

Fisher is best known for her break-out role in Star Wars in 1977, where she played Princess Leia and starred in all three of the original trilogy films. She recently reprised her role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and will have a role in the forthcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII.

But beyond Star Wars, Fisher had a vibrant career in Hollywood. She starred in films like The Blues Brothers, Hannah and Her Sisters and When Harry Met Sally, and had a significant career as a script doctor. For 15 years from 1991 to 2005, she worked as one of the top script doctors in Hollywood, doing uncredited polishes on everything from Hook and Sister Act to Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the Star Wars prequel trilogy. She also starred in hit one-woman stage performances.

In her autobiographies, including 1987's best-selling novels Postcards from the Edge and 2016's The Princess Diarist, Fisher has been candid about her troubled past with mental health problems and substance abuse. Since, she'd become an advocate for mental health awareness, and in 2005 received the Women of Vision Award by the Women in Film & Video - DC.

While Fisher will forever be iconic thanks to her role as Leia in Star Wars, her legacy will stretch far beyond that franchise. She is survived by her mother Debbie Reynolds, her daughter Billie Lourd, and her dog Gary.

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