Carrie Fisher passed away on December 27, 2016; I do not know about the rest of the world, but I was not ready to let her go. I’m going to be honest I have never seen a single Star Wars movie so I didn’t know Princess Leia, but I knew Carrie, and I can’t fathom starting this year off without properly saying goodbye first.
Carrie was born on October 21, 1956 in Burbank, Los Angeles County, California. She was the daughter of famous actress Debbie Reynolds and renowned singer Eddie Fisher. She first started following in her parent’s footsteps at the young age of 15 in the Broadway show, Irene, and she made her first debut in the film industry in 1975 in the movie Shampoo. However, Carrie’s big breakthrough didn’t come until she was 21 and starring in Star Wars as Princess Leia.
I could write 10 features on Princess Leia, and the impact the character had on pop culture and society; however, as I mentioned earlier I am less than qualified. Furthermore, Princess Leia doesn’t interest me half as much as Queen Carrie Fisher. Carrie has always been royalty in my eyes because she was someone I, as a neurodivergent individual, felt I could connect with. She was unapologetically imperfect, and I was completely awestruck.
Carrie Fisher was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and used her experience to become one of the most influential mental health advocates Hollywood has ever had the pleasure of having. During an interview with Diane Sawyer on 20/20 in 2000, Carrie described what it was like having Manic Depression, or Bipolar Disorder. “You can’t stop. It’s very painful. It’s raw. You know, it’s rough…your bones burn… when you’re not busy talking and trying to drown it out.”
Carrie also used her interview with Diane to discuss her past with drug addiction. Carrie admitted that she heavily relied on pills as sleep aids in her mid-20s, around the time of the third Star Wars movie, and that her addiction to drugs continued on the downward spiral until she was consuming 30 Percadin a day in an attempt to counteract the effects of a mental illness she didn’t fully recognize having at the time. Carrie said, “I had a psychotic break. I was in lock-up for two weeks. I continued as an outpatient for five months. And I belonged there. I wasn’t there by accident.”
Although, I specifically quoted Diane Sawyer’s 20/20 interview, that always struck a particular nerve with me. That interview wasn’t the only time Carrie opened up about her mental illness and struggle with drug addiction. In fact, she wrote a novel Postcards from the Edge, a semi-autobiographical tale, in 1997 where she also discussed her drug addiction and struggle with mental illness.
Carrie Fisher has changed so many lives, mine included, with her bravery and openness in sharing her life story, and it is truly a shame that that story had to end so soon. I want to formally say goodbye to Carrie; may her legacy live forever, and the Force be with her till the end of time.