Profile of the Day: Carrie Fisher

Today we remember Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher, who was born on this day in 1956.

Image: Carrie Fisher / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The daughter of Hollywood stars Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Fisher was an avid reader growing up and became known in her family as “the bookworm.” At the age of 18, Fisher made her film debut in the 1975 film Shampoo. Two years later, she catapulted to stardom when she was cast as Princess Leia in George Lucas’s Star Wars. The original Star Wars trilogy became a massive success and cemented Fisher’s place as a cultural icon.

In addition to her success on film, Fisher was also a best-selling writer and one of Hollywood’s best script doctors. In 1987, Fisher published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge. The best-selling book was later adapted into a film in 1990 starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine.

In 2015, Fisher reprised her role as Princess Leia in the latest Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens. Tragically, Fisher died on December 27, 2016 at the age of 60, just after completing The Last Jedi. Released a year later, the film was dedicated to her memory. Four years after her death, and through the use of unused footage from The Force Awakens, she appeared in the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker.

Explore Carrie Fisher’s family tree and share how you’re connected.

View Carrie Fisher’s Geni Profile