Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher ( October 21 , 1956 – December 27 , 2016 ) was an American actress , best known for her portrayal of Prince ss Leia Organa in the " Star Wars " franchise . Biography . Early life . Fisher was born Carrie Frances Fisher in Beverly Hills , California on October 21 , 1956 , the daughter of the singer and the actress ; her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia . Her younger brother is Todd Fisher . Her half - sisters are actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher , whose mother is actress Connie Stevens . When she was two years old , her parents divorced and her father married actress . The following year , her mother , Reynolds , married shoe store chain owner Harry Karl - - who squandered Reynolds ' s life savings without the knowledge of either Reynolds or Fisher . Fisher grew up wanting to follow in the footsteps of her famous parents . She began appearing with her mother in Las Vegas at age 12 . She attended Beverly Hills High School but left to become an actress . She appeared as a debutante and dancer in the hit Broadway revival " Irene " ( 1973 ) starring her mother . Career . Soon after , Fisher enrolled at London ' s Central School of Speech and Drama , which she attended for 18 months . Her first movie appearance was in the Columbia comedy " Shampoo " ( 1975 ) starring Warren Beatty , Julie Christie , and Goldie Hawn , with Lee Grant and Jack Warden . In 1977 , Fisher starred as Leia Organa in , directed and written by George Lucas , along with Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Peter Cushing , and Alec Guinness . " Star Wars " was a huge success and made her internationally famous . Fisher again appeared as Princess Leia in the 1978 made - for - TV movie " The Star Wars Holiday Special " . She then hosted the November 18 , 1978 episode of " Saturday Night Live " , in which she came onto the stage outfitted as Princess Leia , complete to her hair being arranged into the hairstyle she had employed throughout most of " A New Hope , " which some people had noted resembled an Imperial TIE fighter . She opens the show by telling a long " joke " based entirely on " Star Wars " references . She then appeared in a sketch , again as Leia , in which she sings and dances with a group of 1950s teenagers . The episode contained the first polished performance by and as their popular characters , Joliet Jake ( Belushi ) and Elwood ( Aykroyd ) ; Fisher later appeared in as Belushi ' s vengeful ex - lover , listed in the credits as " Mystery Woman . " She is one of the few actors to star in movies with both John and Jim Belushi , later appearing with Jim in the film " The Man with One Red Shoe " . She appeared on Broadway as Iris in " Censored Scenes from King Kong " ( 1980 ) . She appeared again as Princess Leia in ( 1980 ) and ( 1983 ) . She was also a replacement in the Broadway play " Agnes of God " ( 1982 ) . In addition to her acting work , Fisher was also a novelist and a frequent script doctor on the screenplays of other writers . Fisher ' s novel " " — which was semi - autobiographical in the sense that she fictionalized events obviously from her real life , such as her drug addiction of the late 1970s and her complicated , precarious relationship with her mother , Mary Frances " Debbie " Reynolds — was published in 1987 . It became a sensational bestseller and she received the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel . In 1990 , Columbia released a , which Fisher adapted for the screen from her own novel and which starred Meryl Streep , Shirley MacLaine , and Dennis Quaid . Her other novels include " Surrender the Pink " ( 1991 ) , " Delusions Of Grandma " ( 1993 ) , and " The Best Awful There Is " ( 2004 ) . She also published a book of photographs titled " Hollywood Moms " ( 2001 ) and even wrote three primarily non - photographic non - fiction books , " , " based on a 2006 one - woman stage show she and writer - director Joshua Ravetch had jointly developed , published in 2008 , " Shockaholic , " published in 2011 , and " The Princess Diarist , " which was published in 2016 . Fisher wrote the 1993 episode of Lucas ' s TV series " " titled " Paris , October 1916 . " For " " , she wrote dialogue , uncredited , for the moment when C - 3PO and R2 - D2 meet for the very first time . Fisher developed and appeared in two one - woman stage shows ; the first , mentioned above , was " Wishful Drinking , " in which she appeared during 2006 and in 2008 , and the second , in which she appeared during 2008 , was called " A Spy In The House Of Me . " Fisher co - wrote the TV comedy movie " These Old Broads " ( 2001 ) , of which she was also co - executive producer . It starred her mother , Debbie Reynolds , as well as Elizabeth Taylor , Joan Collins , and Shirley MacLaine . In this , Taylor ' s character , an agent , explains to Reynolds ' s character , an actress , that she was in a drunken blackout when she married the actress ' s husband , " Freddy . " In the film " " ( 2000 ) , Fisher ' s character , Bianca Burnette , is mistaken for Carrie Fisher . Fisher pokes fun at herself with the line , " Yeah , I was up for the part of Princess Leia . But who gets it ? The girl who slept with George Lucas ! " Fisher appeared in " " ( 2001 ) , which also featured Mark Hamill in a role . In the 2009 film " " , Fisher ' s character references the famous " I love you / I know " line from both " The Empire Strikes Back " and " Return of the Jedi . " In early March of 2013 , Fisher confirmed in an interview with the " Palm Beach Illustrated " magazine that she would return to reprise her role as Princess Leia in . In July 2016 , she wrapped filming on the follow - up , . Death . On December 23 , 2016 , Fisher was reported to be in critical condition after having suffered a massive heart attack on a flight . Fisher had been the victim of an Internet death hoax just days before and was filming a new series in the United Kingdom for Channel 4 . But much to public shock and horror , Fisher died as a result of cardiac arrest on December 27 , 2016 , at the age of 60 . Fisher ' s mother died one day after her own passing . Fisher is survived by her brother Todd Fisher and daughter Billie Lourd . Fisher and her mother had a joint private funeral service followed by burial at Hollywood Hills ' Forest Lawn Memorial Park . . Fisher ' s ashes were placed inside a large - shaped porcelain urn which was buried next to her mother ' s casket . Her brother Todd stated the pill had been one of Fisher ' s favorite possessions . Personal life . Carrie Fisher had one husband , the musician . During their unsuccessful marriage , which lasted from 1983 to 1984 , she miscarried their child . She also dated CAA principal and agent Bryan Lourd ; their daughter , Billie Catherine Lourd , was born on July 17 , 1992 . The couple ' s relationship ended when he came out as bisexual . For a brief time , during her participation in " The Blues Brothers " she was even engaged to Dan Aykroyd , one of her castmates . It was rumored for years that she had an affair with Harrison Ford while filming the original " Star Wars " film ; while Fisher admitted she had a crush on Ford and spent much time with him off camera , she denied having an affair with him . In 2016 , however , Fisher admitted in her autobiographical title , " The Princess Diarist " , that she did , in fact , have an affair with Ford . Fisher broke her 12 year run of non - dating by living with three - time Emmy award winning news pilot / reporter Bob Tur . The couple broke up in late 2005 . In late 2007 , she was reportedly seen with British novelist Salman Rushdie , sparking rumors of a romantic relationship . In the late 1970s , Fisher became addicted to various drugs . ( Her genetic lineage from her father had rendered her highly physiologically vulnerable to such addictions . ) The problem became so severe that John Landis nearly dismissed her from " The Blues Brothers " ( 1980 ) for being unable to sober up long enough to film a proper scene . She then cleaned up and joined N . A . and A . A . Fisher publicly discussed her problems with liquor and drugs , her battles with bipolar disorder , and overcoming an addiction to prescription antidepressants , most notably on ABC TV ' s " 20 / 20 " . Though Fisher demonstrated talent as a singer , notably in the " SNL " segment she hosted and in the " Holiday Special " , she is not known to have made any recordings of music . Her character of Leia became a merchandising triumph ; there were small plastic dolls of her in every toy store across the United States . Fisher often joked that it was actually Princess Leia who became famous , and she just happened to look like her . After her appearance in " Return of the Jedi " wearing the famous " metal bikini " or " slave " outfit , Fisher was , for a brief time , regarded as a sex symbol . Fisher made a comment once about her experiences off the set of " Star Wars " films : " I used to go in though airports and have people say ; ' Princess Leia ! ' Like I would then go ; ' Yes ? ' You know , like that ' s my real name . " In an interview on public radio in 2005 , Fisher joked about being known overwhelmingly for her role as Princess Leia , and also joked that she was afraid if she ever became senile she might begin to slip back into character . On February 26 , 2005 , 42 - year - old Republican Party media adviser R . Gregory Stevens was found dead in a guest room at Fisher ' s home . She stated that he was a longtime friend and often stayed with her . An autopsy revealed he died from an overdose of cocaine and OxyContin . Fisher ' s dog , Gary , had a cameo in " The Last Jedi " during the Canto Bight sequence .