We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Carrie Fisher, actor, author, and mental health advocate. Fisher suffered a heart attack while in flight from London to Los Angeles on December 23. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition immediately after her plane landed, and passed away today. She was 60 years old.
While Fisher had a storied career in the arts, she is best known the world over for her portrayal of Princess Leia Organa in the Star Wars saga. Diplomat, royalty, and fierce rebel leader, the impact of Princess Leia on the cultural zeitgeist cannot be understated even beyond the scope of science fiction and fantasy. She was a role model to countless young women, and paved the way for many more characters of her ilk. Leia’s popularity came in large part due to Fisher’s no-nonsense portrayal, making the requisite mythic princess of the Star Wars universe anything but a damsel.
In life, Fisher was witty and sardonic, and always ready with an entertaining anecdote. She bravely discussed her difficulties with addiction and bipolar disorder, and wrote several autobiographies and fictional novels that detailed those struggles. Just last month Fisher released her latest autobiographical tale, The Princess Diarist, which contained old diary entries from her time working on the first Star Wars film. She had returned to the galaxy far, far away just last year in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, bringing now-General Leia Organa back to the big screen a full 32 years after her initial departure.
Fisher leaves behind her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, three siblings, and her daughter, Billie Lourd. Our condolences to her friends and family, and anyone who has been touched by her talent and light. She will be profoundly missed.
Seriously. This year.
No! The last news was that she was stable.
@2
Stable is one of those terms that doesn’t really mean anything, except that vital signs are stable. It doesn’t mean you’re doing well, just that you’re stable. For example, if you go into ICU with a BP of 180/70 and a heart rate of 150 and its not changing, you’re stable. You’re not doing well, but at least its not getting worse. Carrie Fisher probably went into ICU in critical but stable condition and couldn’t pull out of it.
RIP, Carrie. I always liked her honesty and ability to take on her life’s setbacks. Godspeed.
2016, only you could be so bold.
RIP
Be one with the Force, your highness.
Dammit Ms. Fisher, you were not to go gentle into that good night!
Sigh!
We have lost our princess!
My condolences to her family and friends.
Kato
Damn you 2016! Haven’t you taken enough from us? RIP Carrie. You were the best.
Sad, but sadly not unexpected, I think. People seemed to be predicting this once they heard what happened on the plane, once she went on the ventilator and was declared “stable” it was basically a signal that they were going to do their best to keep her alive over Christmas so the family and friends didn’t have to have the holiday being the same day as her passing. It is not uncommon.
RIP Carrie.
This year can officially DIAF.
RIP Carrie
Fuck 2016, I think I’m gonna get drunk and hopefully will miss the rest of this fucking year.
I’ve been crying on and off since I heard…
What is happening? Wasn’t this week carrying bad enough news already?
2016 has taken a lot from the world. It remains to be seen if it gave at least something in return.
RIP Carrie :( May the Force be with you.
I wrote this elsewhere but: This one is an especially hard one; she was one of my first celebrity autographs. My group of friends used to watch in the San Francisco Chronicle for two theaters, the Coronet and Northpoint. When they were closed for a special event, it generally meant that LucasFilm was having a screening. We had hoped to go the the benefit for the UC Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archive for the Empire Strikes Back but couldn’t afford it so we decided to stand in front of the Coronet in the hope of seeing someone. A 20th Century Fox rep came out and asked us if we wanted to see a film. We said sure! We entered surrounded by reporters from the New York Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine and others. They gave us a nifty press packet, and a tee-shirt. We watched the movie and loved it. As we prepared to leave, Miss Fisher was there greeting people as they departed. My rule is that you have to get them to speak to you when you get the autograph. I remembered that she had just married Paul Simon so I asked her what was like being newly married. I got a lovely five minute conversation though all I remember was how low her voice was, how petite she was, and how lovely her skin was. She graciously signed the press packet which sits in a drawer which I haven’t opened in years.
Oh it hurts. I’m going to go cry now. My condolences to her family and friends.
I fell in love with Princess Leia as a child, but I came to love Carrie Fisher more as an adult. She was a brilliant writer, a sharp wit, a fearless advocate for people living with mental illness and addiction.
Luminous beings are we, Not this crude matter.
Farewell, my Princess, my hero, my role model. I will try to practice the lessons I learned from you every day. Thank you.
I just saw Rogue One for the first time. I teared up at the final scene. It’s all the more poignant now. In a bizarre way it presciently became a tribute to Carrie Fisher.
I can’t wait to say, “R.I.P. 2016”.
And now Debbie Reynolds just died. Fuck 2016.
RIP to both of them. SW has been around almost as long as I have.
@@.-@ – this gave me a sad chuckle.
I’ve been on vacation so a bit out of it, but I had heard of her heart attack while we were at Disney, and it was after we’d returned home that we heard she had passed (she died the day we flew back home).
What can I say…she was an inspiration to geeky, feisty girls everywhere.
Since then her mother has passed as well – what a horrible time for their family :(
Lisamarie, I’m heading to Disney (World) soon. Any recommendations?
Tons! Are you going with kids, and if so, how old? Are you doing a resort/meal plan?
Do not miss Hollywood Studios! It’s a park that I think a lot of people skip because it’s smaller and doesn’t have quite as many rides (especially now that the actual studio is gone) but they’ve been transforming a sizeable part to be devoted to Star Wars – even playing Star Wars music all throughout the day to create an ambience. Star Tours is SO much fun (my kids rode it twice). Make sure to view one of the parade marches of Captain Phasma and the First Order they do every few hours down Hollywood Boulevard. When we were there (over Christmas) they also had a special Star Wars stage show that was every few hours that was a LOT of fun, and the fireworks show at night was also Star Wars themed, and I won’t lie, I even kind of teared up a few times (mostly due to the music, haha). If you’re into the character meet and greets, Kylo Ren and Chewbacca are at the Star Wars Launch Bay. If you have kids of the right age, get there early and register for them to be in the Jedi Training show (sadly for us, even though we got our 5 year old registered, he didn’t want to do it because I think some of the costumed villains scared him). The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular is kinda cheesy but a lot of fun (and definitely has some impressive stunts), and after we got home my 5 year old wanted to watch Raiders for the first time.
Otherwise, my favorite park was probably Animal Kingdom – I really liked the concept and the way the park was laid out. It’s gorgeous. And definitely do the Kilimanjaro Safari and walk through the Gorilla Falls area. We actually didn’t do a ton else here because a lot of the rides were a little old for our kids (we DID do the Dinosaur ride wihch my 3 and 5 year olds met the height requirements for but is REALLY intense, dark, scary and fast. They dind’t like it. I loved it.) We also had our best dinner there at a place called Tiffins, which is a new ‘Signature’ restaurant (meaning it uses more of the dining credits from your meal plan/is more pricy) but everything was AMAZING and they had a really adventurous menu (I was really excited to be able to enjoy marinated octopus on Christmas Eve – but if that’s not your thing they have chicken, steak, etc. The lime cheesecake is fantastic too. As is their french press coffee.). But depending on your timelines I’m not sure if reservations will be available.
Epcot is nice for the nerd inclined, although we didn’t spend a lot of time in the Futureland part of the park (not really a lot to interest young kids), but I LOVE LOVE LOVE walking through (and eating through) the World Showcase. We ate dinner at Marrakesh in Morocco and it was really tasty. They have a belly dancer that performs there too.
I don’t really know what to say about Magic Kingdom because it’s so iconic. We spent two days there and still didn’t see it all. We did the old standbys – it’s a small world, the Ariel ride, the Peter Pan ride, the carousel, Aladdin’s magic carpet ride (all very easy for children), took a ride on both the train and the riverboat, took a raft over to Tom Sawyer island (there’s a nice playground, AND a fort that the kids can basically run wild in), let the kids explore the Swiss Family Treehouse a few times…although my favorites are definitely the Haunted Mansion (it’s scary, but in a fun way – our kids loved it), and the Jungle Cruise (super cheesy, but also partially because of the Weird Al song about it). If you go through Cinderella’s castle, there are really gorgeous mosaics on the walls! Also, try to stay for a fireworks show, although it’s kind of hard to get a good spot unless you want to devote time to waiting.
Regarding food: it’s certainly cheaper to just bring your own food (honestly, I don’t think I’d eat much from Disney if I didn’t have the meal plan). If you are going to do food there, a lot of the ‘sit down’ places require reservations, but it’s worth it if you can. We did a character lunch at Crystal Palace (in Magic Kingdom) which is a buffet (still pretty good food though and a lot of variety) with the Pooh characters that come to your table. But there are a lot of ‘quick service’ places that are kind of hit or miss. Some places are just typical burgers/chicken places which honestly is not worth the price to me, but there are definitely some really good/unique places too (especially in the World Showcase and Animal Kingdom where they try to do more than just standard American tourist fare. If you like meat/barbeque, Flame Tree Barbecue in Animal Kingdom was really good.). I’m kind of a foodie so maybe the food part doesn’t matter as much to you :) But I was pleasantly surprised at a lot of the places we went.