2016 is ruthless. The beloved actress, mental health advocate and feminist Carrie Fisher has passed away aged 60.
Her daughter, Billie Lourd, released a statement via her spokesperson Simon Halls, revealing her mother had died on Tuesday just before 9:00am (4:00am AEDT on Wednesday).
“It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55am this morning,”
“She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”
On December 23rd, Fisher had suffered from a heart attack aboard a Los Angeles flight where a medic performed CPR until she was able to be transported to a hospital where she remained on a ventilator in a stable condition until her death.
Best remembered as Princess Leia Organa in the Star Wars franchise, her career spanned over another 4 decades. As a best selling author, she detailed her experiences with addiction and mental health, especially bipolar disorder, across several books, including her 1987 semi-autobiography Postcards From The Edge, her 2008 autobiography Wishful Drinking, and her 2016 memoir documenting her time filming Star Wars dubbed The Princess Diarist. Her intolerance for bullshit, advocacy for safe spaces to discuss mental health and addiction, and fierce candor are attributes that will carry on in her memory.
Since her death, fellow co-stars and fans are mourning the passing of an icon and a dear friend.
There are no words for this loss. Carrie was the brightest light in every room she entered. I will miss her dearly. pic.twitter.com/GgIeYGeMt9
— Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) December 27, 2016
no words #Devastated pic.twitter.com/R9Xo7IBKmh
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) December 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/WhoopiGoldberg/status/813811443069923328
She was the brightest, funniest, bravest, kindest, cleverest and sweetest person I ever knew. A crushing blow to lose @carrieffisher
— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) December 27, 2016
Carrie Fisher wore glitter in her hair. When I said I liked it, she ran her fingers through it and lobbed a handful at me. #TheGreatest ð pic.twitter.com/T7NWGdJp8w
— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) December 27, 2016
#CarrieFisher was so witty and provocative and unrelentingly interesting. Goddamn, I loved her. Everyone did.
— Elizabeth Banks âï¸ (@ElizabethBanks) December 27, 2016
Harrison Ford has also given a public statement regarding his well-loved co-star.
“Carrie was one-of-a-kind…brilliant, original. Funny and emotionally fearless.She lived her life, bravely.We will all miss her.”
“What happens is you go to space and you become weightless. So far so good, right? But then your body expands??? But your bra doesn’t—so you get strangled by your own bra. Now I think that this would make for a fantastic obit—so I tell my younger friends that no matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.”
You will be missed, dear space princess. You drowned in moonlight, strangled by your own bra.