Actress Carrie Fisher Dies At Age 60
Carrie Fisher during Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016, in Chicago. Barry Brecheisen/Invision/AP
Actress Carrie Fisher, who found enduring fame as Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars,'' has died. She was 60. Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, released a statement through her spokesman saying Fisher died Tuesday just before 9 a.m PST. Lourd said her mother was "loved by the word and she will be missed profoundly.'' Fisher had been hospitalized since Friday when she suffered a medical emergency on board a flight to Los Angeles.
She made her feature film debut opposite Warren Beatty in the 1975 hit "Shampoo'' and was also an accomplished author who detailed her experiences with addiction and mental illness in several best-selling books.
Besides her daughter, Fisher is survived by her brother, Todd Fisher, and her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds.
"Fisher was only 19 years old when she became intergalactically famous as Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies," NPR's Andrew Limbong reports.
Fisher was "out and open about her issues with drugs and alcohol, and mental illness and treatment," Andrew notes. "She told NPR's Fresh Air that getting all of this out there and speaking about the baggage was a way for her to understand herself."
"It creates community when you talk about private things and you can find other people that have the same things," Fisher said. "Otherwise I felt very lonely with some of the issues that I had."
Fisher also spoke with Terry Gross about the famous gold bikini she wore while Princess Leia was enslaved by Jabba the Hutt in "Return of the Jedi."