Remembering Carrie Fisher: 1956-2016

Fisher as Princess Leia Organa in "Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope" (1977).

The year 2016 saw the passing of many beloved celebrities and individuals, among which was Carrie Fisher. After experiencing a medical emergency while flying from London to Los Angeles, she was taken to a local hospital before her death on December 27 at age 60. After a series of tests, her death was later ruled as cardiac arrest.

Fisher in 2013.

Fisher had many film roles in her life, ranging from the 1975 film “Shampoo” to comedies such as “The Blues Brothers” and “When Harry Met Sally.” She was also the daughter of fellow actress Debbie Reynolds, who died the day after Fisher at age 84.

As an individual with bipolar disorder, she was a longtime advocate of mental health and even wrote a series of books about her life.  After her cremation, her ashes were contained in an urn shaped like a Prozac capsule. When news broke of Fisher’s passing, sales of her autobiography trilogy of 2008’s “Wishful Drinking,” 2011’s “Shockaholic” and 2016’s “The Princess Diarist” surged from online retailers such as Amazon.

While Fisher was never a stranger to the limelight, she truly became a member of Hollywood royalty when she was given the role as Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” saga. She helped propel the role she was given to the status of a pop-culture icon as she played prominent roles in “A New Hope” in 1977, “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980 and “Return of the Jedi” in 1983.

Fisher also contributed to television work such as a recurring role on “Family Guy” and an appearance in a special “Star Wars”-themed episode of the animated sketch comedy series “Robot Chicken.”

Before her sudden death, Fisher ended up reprising her role as Leia in the highly acclaimed and successful “Star Wars: Episode VII-The Force Awakens,” as well as having a CGI recreation of her character being done for the spinoff film “Rogue One.” While Disney confirmed that Fisher had completed her work on “Episode VIII” at the time news of her passing broke, the company also briefly considered the idea of digitally recreating Fisher before ultimately deciding against it. Instead, Lucasfilm has begun talks of having “Episode IX” rewritten to reflect Fisher’s passing; presumably retiring the character of General Leia in the process.

Even though Fisher may be gone, the legacy she left behind will last forever. Not only have many associated with her work in “Star Wars” paid tribute to her, Fisher has left a significant impact on popular culture in many forms. Her memory will be honored for generations to come.