Carrie Fisher (1956-2016)
Carrie Fisher passed away in Los Angeles today at the age of 60. She had been in the intensive care unit of the UCLA Medical Center since suffering a heart attack on return flight from London. Best known for her role as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, and most recently in the sequel, The Force Awakens, she was also a screenwriter and author.
Fisher had been confirmed to return to the role of Leia in the next installment in the franchise, “Episode VIII,” due in theaters December 2017. The film finished shooting this summer, but plot details — including what part Leia plays in the next chapter of the saga — have been kept tightly under wraps.
Although some actors might bemoan being so closely associated with a single role for so many years, Fisher never seemed to resent being linked to Leia, even if she did admit to disliking the character’s famous buns, calling them a “hair-don’t instead of a hairdo.”
“It’s not always fun, but it’s certainly life-changing,” she told The Times last year. “I have been Princess Leia exclusively. It’s been a part of my life for 40 years…. I’m like the diplomat to a country that I haven’t been to yet. I am that country.”
I don’t remember how old I was when I first watched Star Wars, maybe 5. I can proudly admit to Princess Leia being my first crush. An iconic figure in popular culture, a troubled soul through much of her life, but someone who seemed to have come through it all to find a measure of peace on the other side. Rest in peace Princess Leia.
