Carrie Fisher, Beloved 'Star Wars' Actress, Dies

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" franchise, died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack on a flight home to Los Angeles. She was 60.

Fisher died at 8:55 a.m., according to a statement to People magazine released by daughter, actress Billie Lourd.

“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's mother, Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds, issued a statement via Facebook.

"Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter," she said. "I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to the next stop."

Fisher was flying home from London where she was promoting her latest book, "The Princess Diarist," when she had the heart attack. Flight crews from United Airlines and passengers on the plane administered first aid until the plane landed at LAX, which was around 12:10 p.m. Friday.

She was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center by the Los Angeles Fire Department. She was stable as of Sunday, but reportedly never regained consciousness. The cause of death has not been determined by the coroner's office.

Reactions from other Hollywood stars quickly began flooding Twitter after the news broke:

Fisher was born on Oct. 21, 1956, the daughter of Hollywood royalty, singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. She was 2 when her parents separated in a much publicized divorce when Eddie Fisher left her mother for Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor was Mike Todd's widow, the best friend of Eddie Fisher.

Carrie Fisher later described the incident as an "unpleasant experience."

Fisher made her Broadway debut in March 1973 at the age of 16 in the revival of "Irene," starring her mother. The success of the show meant she had to drop out of Beverly Hills High School. Fisher never ended up graduating from high school.

In 1978, her acting career again interfered with her education. This time, it was a franchise that would cement her status as cult icon. Fisher dropped out of Sarah Lawrence College to film the "Star Wars" franchise. Her role as Princess Leia, a tough, no-nonsense member of the rebellion in the epic space opera franchise, earned her legions of fans.

It was during the filming of "Star Wars" where the then-19-year-old actress had an affair with the then-married Harrison Ford, who was 34 at the time and played Han Solo in the movie. The affair was rumored and much talked about but was not confirmed until this year in her autobiography, "The Princess Diarist."

"It was Han and Leia during the week, and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend," Fisher told People magazine in November while promoting the book.

The book, which was based on the diaries she kept during the filming of "Star Wars," painted a contentious love affair between the pair. In the book, the two ended up in bed together after a drunken birthday celebration in London for director George Lucas. The affair lasted for three months.

Ford reportedly told the inexperienced Fisher she was a bad kisser, and she doesn’t offer much flattery in return. Fisher admits she “relentlessly” tried to make Ford love her and fantasized that he would leave his wife for her. That never happened. The relationship ended as soon as the filming was complete. The pair would reunite in 2016 for the "Star Wars" sequel, "The Force Awakens."

Fisher's fame was at its peak in 1983. That was the year that "Return of the Jedi," the third installment of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, was released. In that movie, she donned the iconic metal bikini, also known as the "Slave Leia" outfit, which would become a staple at comics and "Star Wars" conventions. The outfit made her a sex symbol, especially among lovelorn geeks.

Fisher said she did not know at the time that she had become a sex symbol.

"Because I don't think that way. I don't look at myself even remotely that way," Fisher told The Daily News while promoting "The Force Awakens."

"So that would have been hilarious, if I had the chops for hilarious at the time," she said.

In that same year, Fisher married singer Paul Simon. They would divorce a year later.

After the original "Star Wars" films, Fisher's acting career never again reached the same heights, though she continued to work steadily in film and television.

Aside from acting, Fisher was a gifted writer. Her first novel, "Postcards from the Edge," a semi-autobiographical satirization of her drug addiction and relationships, became a bestseller in 1987. The book was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine and Dennis Quaid in 1990. Fisher herself adapted it into a film script. She was one of the top script doctors in Hollywood, though she stopped revising scripts in 2015.

In her personal life, Fisher publicly dealt with drug addiction and bipolar disorder. She said she started taking drugs as way to self-medicate.

"Drugs made me feel more normal," she told Psychology Today in 2001. "They contained me."

Fisher is survived by her mother; daughter, Billie Lourd; brother Todd Fisher; and half-sisters Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher.

Photo credit: Riccardo Ghilard/Wikimedia Commons