Carrie Fisher at a film premiere in Hollywood, February 23, 2011. Photo © 2011 Joseph Martinez/Picturelux – All Rights Reserved.
As the world mourns the passing of Carrie Fisher, child of Hollywood and Star Wars Royalty, we take a look at some little known facts about her storied life and career.
- Daughter of Actress Debbie Reynolds and Singer Eddie Fisher
- Father Eddie Fisher left when she was 2 years old to marry the widow of his best friend Mike Todd, Elizabeth Taylor
- She attended Beverly Hills High School until the age of 15, when she appeared in the Broadway revival Irene (1973), which starred her mother
- Older half-sister of Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher. Older sister of Todd Fisher
- Attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London
- She allegedly disliked the “bagel bun” hairstyle she wore in the original Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), but she didn’t say anything about it because she was afraid that director George Lucas would get angry and fire her
- When asked what her favorite moment from the original Star Wars trilogy was, she replied that her favorite moments were the arguing scenes between her and Harrison Ford
- Along with her writing career, she also became a successful rewriter of movie scripts, saving many troubled productions
- Stood on a box for many of her scenes with Harrison Ford in the original Star Wars trilogy, owing to the fact that she was roughly a foot shorter than he and didn’t fit into the frame
- Was once engaged to Dan Aykroyd
- Has written several novels including the semi-autobiographical “Postcards from the Edge”, filmed in 1990
- Friends with the late Michael Jackson and Meryl Streep. Streep portrayed Fisher in Postcards from the Edge (1990)
- In her 2008 memoir “Wishful Drinking”, she notes that, like her mother in Singin’ in the Rain (1952), she became famous at age 19 for her role in a classic hit alongside two male co-stars. She also mentions that “Star Wars” could also refer to her celebrity parents’ infamous divorce
- Turned down the role of Sarah Connor in The Terminator (1984), which went to Linda Hamilton
- Was author William Goldman’s ideal choice for the character Buttercup in The Princess Bride (1987), a role that went to Robin Wright instead
- Accomplished a 35-pound weight loss in her preparation for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
- She admitted that she found it difficult to act across from Peter Cushing in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) for two reasons. She found the dialogue to be awful, and Cushing was so nice and polite to her on set between takes, she found it very difficult to show the disdain her character, Princess Leia has for Cushing’s character, Grand Moff Tarkin
Personal Quote: [beautifulquote align=”full” cite=””]I was street smart, but unfortunately the street was Rodeo Drive[/beautifulquote]
On December 23, 2016, Carrie Fisher went into cardiac arrest while on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Fisher died at age 60 on December 27, 2016, at 8:55 am local time in Los Angeles. Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, confirmed the actress’s death in a statement given to the press shortly afterward by family spokesperson, Simon Halls. At the time of her death, Fisher is survived by her daughter, her mother Debbie Reynolds, her brother Todd Fisher and her half-sisters Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher.
Trivia and quotes per IMDB.