ACTOR · BORN 1956 · DIED 2016
Carrie Fisher
- Born
- 21 October 1956, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Died
- 27 December 2016
- Known for
- Return of the Jedi (1983), The Terminator (1984), Drop Dead Fred (1991), Appointment with Death (1988)
49 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Carrie Fisher (21 October 1956 – 27 December 2016) was an actor best known for Return of the Jedi, The Terminator and Drop Dead Fred.
Carrie Fisher over the years
49 Interesting Facts About Carrie Fisher
Interesting Facts (4)
- #001
In an interview with the New York Times, she revealed that she made George Lucas give her a copy of The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) in exchange for recording DVD commentary for the Star Wars films. She added that she showed it at parties, "mainly at the end of the night when I want people to leave."
Carrie Fisher: at an evening eventImage: Wikimedia Commons · Alan Light, CC BY 2.0 - #002
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Production Story (6)
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- #009
She was a longtime friend of Miguel Ferrer, who encouraged her and helped her prepare for her audition for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Their mothers, Debbie Reynolds and Rosemary Clooney respectively, were both best known for their performances in hit 1950s musicals: Singin' in the Rain (1952) and White Christmas (1954).
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Behind the Scenes (8)
- #011
- #012
She appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), which also starred Mark Hamill. It was the first time the two had appeared in the same film since Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). Neither of them knew the other was involved in the project until shortly after filming had been completed. They would later reunite again in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015).
- #013
She confirmed in her autobiography that she disliked the "bagel-bun" hairstyle that she wore in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). However, prior to filming, the studio had requested that she lose some weight first, which she had not. Out of fear of being fired for it, she was eager to comply with everything that director George Lucas suggested, which included the hairstyle.
- #014
She admitted that she found it difficult to act opposite Peter Cushing in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) for two reasons: she thought the dialog was awful, and Cushing was so nice and polite to her on set between takes that she found it very difficult to show the disdain her character, Princess Leia, felt towards Cushing's character, Grand Moff Tarkin.
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- #018
She had to stand on a box for many of her scenes with Harrison Ford in the original Star Wars trilogy because she was roughly a foot shorter than him and was not the right size for the frame.
Characters & Cast (6)
- #019
She auditioned for the lead role in the horror classic Carrie (1976), while Sissy Spacek auditioned for Princess Leia in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), as George Lucas and Brian De Palma were holding joint auditions. They ultimately swapped roles. Contrary to popular belief, Fisher did not turn down Spacek's role because of the nudity involved.
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- #024
She was considered for the role of Iris Steensma in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976) which went to Jodie Foster.
Easter Eggs & References (3)
Deeper Meaning (1)
- #028
In her memoir "Wishful Drinking" (2008), she noted that, like her mother in Singin' in the Rain (1952), she became famous at age 19 for her role in a classic hit alongside two male co-stars. She also mentioned that the title of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) could also refer to her celebrity parents' infamous divorce.
Career & Awards (10)
- #029
- #030
She was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, on May 4, 2023. Mark Hamill and her daughter Billie Lourd gave the acceptance speech. During the ceremony, May 4 (usually known as "Star Wars Day") was officially named "Carrie Fisher Day" by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Her star is located near the historic El Capitan Theatre.
- #031
In 2016, Harvard College gave Fisher its Annual Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism, noting that "her forthright activism and outspokenness about addiction, mental illness, and agnosticism have advanced public discourse on these issues with creativity and empathy."
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- #033
As well as working as a script doctor for films, she also polished scripts for George Lucas' television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992). Lucas had directed Fisher as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. There exists a Star Wars script purported to be hers, which shows extensive pen and ink changes to the dialog, perhaps marking the beginning of the script doctor part of her career. Lucas later hired her to polish the scripts of the original trilogy's prequels Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).
- #034
In addition to her credited screenplay adaptation of her novel "Postcards from the Edge" and a credit on Arsenic and Old Mom (1997), Fisher was for several years a highly sought-after, highly paid, uncredited Hollywood script doctor. Fisher did uncredited rewrites on such screenplays as Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), Last Action Hero (1993), The Wedding Singer (1998), Scream 3 (2000) (in which she also had a small role as Bianca), and the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
- #035
She wrote several novels, including the semi-autobiographical "Postcards from the Edge", a thinly veiled study of the relationship between Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds. It later became the film Postcards from the Edge (1990), which starred Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine in the Fisher and Reynolds roles respectively.
- #036
- #037
As well as working as a script doctor for films, she also polished scripts for George Lucas' television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992). Lucas had directed Fisher as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. There exists a Star Wars script purported to be hers, which shows extensive pen and ink changes to the dialog, perhaps marking the beginning of the script doctor part of her career. Lucas later hired her to polish the scripts of the original trilogy's prequels Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).
- #038
She was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on May 4, 2023. Mark Hamill and her daughter Billie Lourd held the acceptance speech. During the ceremony, May 4 (usually known as "Star Wars Day") was officially named "Carrie Fisher Day" by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Her star is located near the historic El Capitan Theatre.
Life & Family (11)
- #039
- #040
She revealed in her memoir "Wishful Drinking" that she once had a romantic relationship with U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut). When Dodd was asked for a comment by a reporter from The Kansas City Star in 2007, he explained that "it was a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."
- #041
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- #045
When her mother, Debbie Reynolds, was going through her highly publicized divorce from Carrie's father, Eddie Fisher, press crews were literally camped out around the clock on Reynolds' front lawn. To ingratiate herself to reporters, Reynolds would bring food and drinks out to them, often with her two toddlers Carrie and Todd in her arms. This childhood experience gave Carrie a level of comfort in dealing with media that few other movie stars have ever had.
- #046
She was well known for her sense of humor and quick wit. One of her father Eddie Fisher's first hits in the 1950s was a song entitled "Oh! My Pa-Pa". Her father, of course, had a scandalous affair with Elizabeth Taylor and ultimately left her mother, Debbie Reynolds, to marry Taylor. When Fisher and Reynolds were making a joint television appearance, Fisher quipped that her mother could sing, too, and should have written and sang a song entitled "Oh! My Faux Pas".
- #047
She met British musician James Blunt in a restaurant in Los Angeles at the time he was recording his debut album. She then offered him to live in her home for a while. Not only was she very supportive of Blunt's work, she also suggested naming his album "Back to Bedlam". Both became close friends, and she would later become the godmother of his son.
- #048
In her memoir "Wishful Drinking" (2008), she noted that, like her mother in Singin' in the Rain (1952), she became famous at age 19 for her role in a classic hit alongside two male co-stars. She also mentioned that the title of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) could also refer to her celebrity parents' infamous divorce.
- #049
She was well known for her sense of humor and quick wit. One of her father Eddie Fisher's first hits in the 1950s was a song entitled "Oh! My Pa-Pa". Her father, of course, had a scandalous affair with Elizabeth Taylor and ultimately left her mother, Debbie Reynolds to marry Taylor. When Fisher and Reynolds were making a joint television appearance, Fisher quipped that her mother could sing, too, and should have written and sang a song entitled, "Oh! My Faux Pas".
Related pages
- Clue — Carrie Fisher comes up in the facts on that page
- Eric Idle — Carrie Fisher comes up in the facts on that page
- The Big Bang Theory — Carrie Fisher comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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