A spokesperson for Carrie's actress daughter, Billie Lourd, announced the movie icon's death on Tuesday (27Dec16), four days after she was hospitalised following a heart attack onboard a flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday (23Dec16).

Her mother, Hollywood veteran Debbie Reynolds, promptly thanked fans for their love and support following the tragedy, as early tributes poured in from celebrity friends and fans, including Carrie's Star Wars castmates Billy Dee Williams and "devastated" Mark Hamill, who had "no words" to explain his sadness.

Now Harrison, who starred as Han Solo in the blockbuster franchise, has spoken out to honour Carrie, who played his onscreen lover Princess Leia in the sci-fi series. In her recent memoir The Princess Diarist, the actress also revealed she and Harrison had enjoyed a three-month extramarital affair while shooting Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope in 1976.

"Carrie was one-of-a-kind... brilliant, original. Funny and emotionally fearless," Harrison wrote in a statement. "She lived her life, bravely... My thoughts are with her daughter Billie, her mother Debbie, her brother Todd, and her many friends. We will all miss her."

Star Wars creator George Lucas also expressed his sadness: "Carrie and I have been friends most of our adult lives," the 72-year-old filmmaker shared. "She was extremely smart; a talented actress, writer and comedienne with a very colorful personality that everyone loved.

"In Star Wars she was our great and powerful princess - feisty, wise and full of hope in a role that was more difficult than most people might think. My heart and prayers are with Billie, Debbie and all Carrie's family, friends and fans. She will be missed by all."

Meanwhile, Disney boss Bob Iger revealed Carrie will be "sorely missed", as producer Kathleen Kennedy, who serves as president of George's Lucasfilm company, added, "Carrie holds such special place in the hearts of everyone at Lucasfilm it is difficult to think of a world without her."

Revered director Steven Spielberg, who is close friends with Lucas, also offered up a few words in memory of Fisher, who he worked with on 1980 film The Blues Brothers.

"I have always stood in awe of Carrie," he noted. "Her observations always made me laugh and gasp at the same time. She didn't need The Force. She was a force of nature, of loyalty and of friendship. I will miss her very much."

There was also a Twitter tribute from Samuel L. Jackson, who starred as MACe Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

"The light in The Galaxy is dimmed by the loss of our Princess Leia," he wrote. "May The Force Be With Her!! RIP".

Reports suggest Carrie, who reprised her role as Princess Leia in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, had already completed filming scenes for the follow-up, Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is due for release next December (17).

She was also slated to appear in the ninth Star Wars movie, which begins shooting in 2018.</s>AUSTIN (KXAN) — In honor of Carrie Fisher, the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar Boulevard is hosting a lightsaber vigil for our fearless Princess Leia.

The vigil is being held at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 28. Fans are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Star Wars characters and bring along as many lightsabers as they can possibly carry. If you don’t have any lightsabers sitting around, feel free to bring a flashlight or a glow stick.

Alamo Drafthouse says they want the guests to “brighten the sky and say thank you to a woman who inspired us on and off the screen.”

Fisher died on Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 60 after suffering a massive heart attack on Friday.

Fisher made her feature film debut opposite Warren Beatty in the 1975 hit Shampoo. She also appeared in Austin Powers, The Blues Brothers, Charlie’s Angels, Hannah and Her Sisters, Scream 3 and When Harry Met Sally.

But Fisher is best remembered as the headstrong Princess Leia in the original Star Wars in 1977, her hair styled in futuristic braided buns. She uttered the immortal phrase “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”</s>I’m deeply saddened to learn of the death of Carrie Fisher. I will miss our banterings. A wonderful talent & light has been extinguished.</s>Life was often a struggle for Carrie Fisher, the author and actress who died Tuesday at the age of 60, after finally coming to terms with – and revisiting – her Star Wars role of Princess Leia.

Fisher granted millions of Star Wars fans their wish by featuring in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as Leia, wife of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and mother of Dark Side acolyte Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

Offscreen, she reconciled late in life with her father, the ‘50s torch singer Eddie Fisher who, infamously, left her mother Debbie Reynolds for the oft-married starlet Elizabeth Taylor. Eddie Fisher died in 2010.

In 1999, I had an I/M online interview with Fisher, seeking comment on Been There, Done That, her father’s tell-all autobiography (“a slander-most” as his daughter put it).

“I’m thinking of having my DNA fumigated,” she added. At his death, however, she would call him, “an extraordinary talent and a true mensch.”

Talking about the father she seldom saw after the marriage breakup, Fisher revealed her belief that she inherited her own manic depression from Eddie. She believed he was “an untreated manic depressive,” who dealt with his problems through drugs and alcohol.

Fisher knew of what she spoke. Her own drug addiction in the ‘70s became fodder for her first novel Postcards From The Edge. (She would go on to write other novels and memoirs – the most recent of which, The Princess Diarist, made headlines with revelations of her off-screen affair with Ford during the filming of Star Wars).

Postcards From The Edge became a movie in 1990 starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine (in thinly-veiled roles based on Fisher and her mother Reynolds).

“My mother is fantastic,” Fisher told me. “Without her, I would have been raised by wolves.”

At the time we spoke, Fisher had just finished writing a script for her mother called These Old Broads. It would be made in 2001 with, ironically, Reynolds and the erstwhile “other woman” Elizabeth Taylor, as well as MacLaine.

Fisher also said she was just beginning writing her next novel, which would turn out to be the semi-autobiographical The Best Awful There Is.

She wouldn’t say at the time what it was about though. “All I can tell is you it won’t be about my father.”</s>Steve Martin deleted his tweet in memory of Carrie Fisher after some followers criticized his comments as sexist.

On Tuesday, December 27, the funnyman tweeted and then deleted: ”When I was a young man, Carrie Fisher was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She turned out to be witty and bright as well."



Immediately, some followers turned against Martin, calling him "a jerk" for commenting on the actress and writer's appearance instead of her accomplishments.



“I think she apprised to be something higher than just being pretty,” one person on Twitter wrote. “How do you want to be remembered?”

“Seriously @SteveMartinToGo quit being such a jerk for thinking Carrie Fisher was beautiful and saying so on the occasion of her death…” another follower added.

Others, however, stood up for the comedian, who had intended to pay tribute to the late Star Wars icon.



“Am I missing something? What is the squawk about? Sounded lovely to me,” one Martin fan shared on Twitter, while another added: “If you were upset by Steve Martin’s tweet about Carrie Fisher, congratulations! You are officially addicted to outrage. Now, seek help.”

As previously reported, Fisher died at the age of 60 Tuesday, December 27, after suffering a medical emergency while aboard a plane from London to LAX last Friday.

Martin's tweet came as other Hollywood A-listers, including her Star Wars costars Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, praised Fisher for her impressive career and famously witty sense of humor. 



Can't get enough of Us? Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter packed with the latest celeb news, hot pics and more!</s>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carrie Fisher didn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so fans have taken over a blank sidewalk star to pay tribute to the late “Star Wars” actress.

Fan Jason Thomas tells news station KNBC-TV Los Angeles (http://bit.ly/2hx1tj2 ) that he took it upon himself to make a star for Fisher, who died Tuesday at age 60.

Paste-on letters spell out her name and the phrase “May the force be with you always.” Candles and flowers surround the star.</s>Actress and writer Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” has died at age 60, her daughter’s publicist says.</s>LOS ANGELES - Actress Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” movies, has died at age 60, a family spokesman confirmed to People Magazine Tuesday morning.

“It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,” Simon Halls said in a statement to the magazine.

“She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers," the statement read.

Fisher suffered a “cardiac episode” on a flight that was bound for Los Angeles International Airport on Friday. L.A. firefighters responded and, after the flight landed, rushed Fisher to UCLA Medical Center.

An actress who was seated near Fisher on the United Airlines flight said the plane’s crew responded to the medical emergency, including doctors and nurses who were on board.

Fisher was not breathing for about 10 minutes, according to the actress, Anna Akana.

Initially reported to be in critical condition, Fisher's mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, tweeted on Christmas that her daughter was in stable condition.

"For all her fans & friends. I thank you for your prayers & good wishes," Reynolds wrote in the tweet.

Fisher’s breakout role was in the 1977 film “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” She was 20 when the film was released.

Fisher grew up in Beverly Hills. Her parents were performers Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, who divorced when she was a young child.

Fisher’s newest memoir, “The Princess Diarist,” was published in late November. It is based around diaries she kept at the time the first “Star Wars” movie was made.

“What would I be if I weren’t princess Leia? A great big nothing without one piece of fan mail to call my own,” she writes in the book.

In addition to her roles in the original trilogy, Fisher reprised the role as an aged princess in last year’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and in next year’s forthcoming “Star Wars: Episode VIII.”

Fisher's death was met with an outpouring of grief on social media, as celebrities, those who knew her, and her fans took to Twitter to express their sadness over her death.</s>The film industry and fans around the world have been paying tribute to the US actress Carrie Fischer, who has died, aged 60, after a cardiac arrest.

She was best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series.

“She was our great and powerful princess,” said Stars Wars’ creator George Lucas. “She will be missed by all.”

“Thank you Carrie Fisher for all that you’ve given us,” tweeted the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts.

Her fellow Star Wars actor Mark Hamill called the news “downright heartbreaking,” adding “Carrie was one-of-a-kind who belonged to us all – whether she liked it or not”.

In New York, fans Eric and Elizabeth McCabe spoke of their shock at the news.

“She’s a hero and will always be remembered as such,” said Elizabeth McCabe.

“We grew up watching Star Wars and actually she looked pretty good in the last movie. We didn’t realise that her health was so bad. It’s really upsetting,” added Eric.
• In her own words

Carrie Fisher’s mother, the actress Debbie Reynolds, wrote on her Facebook page: “Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter. I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop.”

Star Wars co-star Harrison Ford described Fisher as “brilliant, original, funny and emotionally fearless”.

Fans of the actress have been sharing stories with the BBC about meeting her, including John Moore, who remembers discussing mental health problems which she has admitted suffering.

“She has inspired me by teaching me that just because you’re a little broken or a little different you can still be an inspiration and shine like she did. She was honest about her health issues and was just herself.

“She taught me to not feel embarrassed or a lesser person just because you sometimes struggle to get through the day. Her death has hit me hard but it also makes me feel so proud to have been like her, different.”

Fisher had been on tour promoting her latest book, The Princess Diarist, when she was taken ill as her flight back from London neared Los Angeles last Friday.

In a statement released on behalf of Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd, spokesman Simon Halls said: “It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8.55 (16:55 GMT) this morning [Tuesday].”

The daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher made her film debut opposite Warren Beatty in 1975’s Shampoo.

She also appeared in The Blues Brothers, When Harry Met Sally and Hannah and Her Sisters, and provided the voice of Peter Griffin’s boss Angela in the adult animated sitcom Family Guy.

But her enduring fame is thanks to her role as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, a part she reprised in last year’s reboot The Force Awakens.

Discussing the part, she told the Daily Mail in 2011 that when she got the role in a “little science-fiction film”, she just thought of it as a bit of fun.

“It exploded across the firmament of pop culture, taking all of us along with it. It tricked me into becoming a star all on my own.”

She was also a successful writer, publishing several novels and memoirs, and working on the scripts for films like The Wedding Singer and Sister Act.

Her latest memoir, The Princess Diarist, contained revelations of an affair with Harrison Ford while the pair were shooting the first Star Wars film in 1976.

Fisher endured a difficult private life, and discussed her years of mental illness and drug addiction in interviews and writing. An early memoir was called Wishful Drinking.</s>LOS ANGELES — Carrie Fisher, the daughter of Hollywood royalty who played Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” and turned her experiences with addiction and mental illness into bestselling books, a hit film and popular stage performances, died Tuesday after suffering a medical emergency aboard a flight on Friday. She was 60.

Her daughter, Billie Lourd, released a statement through her spokesman announcing Fisher’s death.

“It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,” read the statement from publicist Simon Halls. “She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly.”

Fisher, the daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and crooner Eddie Fisher, had been hospitalized since Friday, when paramedics responded to a patient in distress at Los Angeles International Airport. Fisher’s family said she was in intensive care Friday evening.

She made her feature film debut opposite Warren Beatty in the 1975 hit “Shampoo.” She also appeared in “Austin Powers,” ”The Blues Brothers,” ”Charlie’s Angels,” ”Hannah and Her Sisters,” ”Scream 3″ and “When Harry Met Sally …”

But Fisher is best remembered as Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” in 1977, with her now-iconic braided buns, who uttered the immortal phrase, “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.” Fisher played a part in which she was tough, feisty and powerful, even if at one point she was chained to Jabba the Hutt. (She reprised the role in Episode VII of the series, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015, and her digitally rendered image appears in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”)

Fisher long battled drug addiction and mental illness. She said she smoked pot at age 13, used LSD by 21 and was first diagnosed as bipolar at age 24. She was treated with electroconvulsive therapy and medication.

In 1987, her thinly veiled autobiography “Postcards From the Edge” became a best seller. It was adapted into a 1990 film starring Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep.

More books followed: “Delusions of Grandma,” ”Surrender the Pink,” ”The Best Awful,” ”Shockaholic” and this year’s autobiography, “The Princess Diarist,” in which she revealed that she and co-star Harrison Ford had an affair on the set of “Star Wars.”

Ever ready to satirize herself, she has even played Carrie Fisher a few times, as in David Cronenberg’s dark Hollywood sendup “Maps to the Stars” and in an episode of “Sex and the City.” In the past 15 years, Fisher also had a somewhat prolific career as a television guest star, recently in the Amazon show “Catastrophe” as the mother of Rob Delaney’s lead, and perhaps most memorably as a has-been comedy legend on “30 Rock.”

Her one-woman show, “Wishful Drinking,” which she’s performed on and off across the country since 2006, was turned into a book, made its way to Broadway in 2009 and was captured for HBO in 2010.

Little was off-limits in the show. She discussed the scandal that engulfed her superstar parents (Fisher ran off with Elizabeth Taylor); her brief marriage to singer Paul Simon; the time the father of her daughter left her for a man; and the day she woke up next to the dead body of a platonic friend who had overdosed in her bed.

“I’m a product of Hollywood inbreeding. When two celebrities mate, something like me is the result,” she said in the show. At another point, she cracked: “I don’t have a problem with drugs so much as I have a problem with sobriety.”

“She was funnier&smarter than anyone had the right to be,” Whoopi Goldberg wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “Sail On Silver Girl. Condolences Debbie & Billie.”

“Hail Hail! A genius has vacated this realm-RIP Carrie Fisher,” Roseanne Barr posted on the site.

Besides her mother and daughter, Fisher is survived by her brother, Todd Fisher.

In a 2009 interview with The Associated Press, Fisher wasn’t coy about revealing details about her unusual life, whether it was about drug addiction, mental illness or her failed relationships. She hoped to destigmatize mental health problems.

“People relate to aspects of my stories and that’s nice for me because then I’m not all alone with it,” she said. “Also, I do believe you’re only as sick as your secrets. If that’s true, I’m just really healthy.”
Carrie Fisher, the actress and writer best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, dies following complications from a heart attack.