Carrie Fisher
Actor · Writer · Advocate
Carrie Fisher was an American actor and writer best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars films. She also built a substantial career as a novelist, memoirist and screenwriter, including Postcards from the Edge, Wishful Drinking and The Princess Diarist. Fisher spoke publicly and repeatedly about living with bipolar disorder and became a highly visible advocate for reducing stigma around serious mental illness. [8][10]
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Career and work
Fisher made her film debut in Shampoo (1975) and became internationally known two years later as Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars. She returned to the role throughout the original trilogy and decades later in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Her other film and television work included Hannah and Her Sisters, When Harry Met Sally... and Catastrophe. [8]
Alongside acting, Fisher developed a substantial career as a writer and screenwriter. Her 1987 novel Postcards from the Edge was adapted into a 1990 film from her own screenplay, and she went on to publish novels and memoirs including Surrender the Pink, Wishful Drinking and The Princess Diarist. She also became a highly sought-after Hollywood script doctor, doing uncredited rewriting on films including Sister Act, The River Wild and The Wedding Singer. [8]
What has been publicly discussed
“We have been given a challenging illness, and there is no other option than to meet those challenges.”
— Carrie Fisher [9]
