Early life

Carrie Frances Fisher was born in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. Her father was Jewish, the son of immigrants from Russia, and her mother was raised a Nazarene, and is of Scots-Irish and English ancestry. Her younger brother is producer and actor Todd Fisher, and her half-sisters are actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher, whose mother is singer and actress Connie Stevens.

When Fisher was two, her parents divorced after her father left Reynolds for her best friend, actress Elizabeth Taylor, the widow of her father's best friend Mike Todd. The following year, her mother married Harry Karl, owner of a shoe-store chain, who secretly spent Reynolds' life savings. She appeared as a debutante and singer in the hit Broadway revival Irene (1973), which starred her mother. This activity interfered with her education and she never graduated from high school.

Career

1970s

In 1973, Fisher enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, which she attended for eighteen months. She made her film debut in the Columbia comedy Shampoo (1975) starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn, with Lee Grant and Jack Warden as her character's parents. In 1977, Fisher starred as Princess Leia in George Lucas's science-fiction film Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) opposite Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. At the time, she believed the script for Star Wars was fantastic, but did not expect many people to agree with her, and though her fellow actors were not close at the time, they bonded after the commercial success of the film. The huge success of Star Wars made her internationally famous.

In April 1978, she appeared as the love interest in Ringo Starr's 1978 TV special Ringo. The next month, she appeared alongside John Ritter (who had also appeared in Ringo) in the ABC-TV film Leave Yesterday Behind, as a horse trainer who helps Ritter's character after an accident leaves him a paraplegic. At this time, Fisher appeared with Laurence Olivier and Joanne Woodward in the anthology series Laurence Olivier Presents in a television version of the William Inge play Come Back, Little Sheba. That November, she appeared as Princess Leia in the 1978 TV production Star Wars Holiday Special, and sang in the last scene.

1980s

Fisher later appeared in The Blues Brothers film as Jake's vengeful ex-lover; she is listed in the credits as "Mystery Woman". While in Chicago filming the movie, her life was saved by Dan Aykroyd when she was choking on a Brussels sprout and he performed the Heimlich maneuver on her. She appeared on Broadway in Censored Scenes from King Kong in 1980. That year, she reprised her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and appeared as herself with her Star Wars costars on the cover of the July 12, 1980 issue of Rolling Stone to promote the film. She also appeared in the Broadway production of Agnes of God in 1982.

In 1983, Fisher returned to the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and posed in the Princess Leia metal bikini on the cover of the Summer 1983 issue of Rolling Stone to promote the film. The iconic costume would later achieve a cult following of its own.

Fisher is one of the few actors or actresses to star in films with both John and James Belushi, later appearing with the latter in the film The Man with One Red Shoe. She appeared in the Woody Allen film Hannah and her Sisters in 1986.

In 1987, Fisher published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge. The book was semi-autobiographical in the sense that she fictionalized and satirized real-life events such as her drug addiction of the late 1970s and her relationship with her mother. It became a bestseller, and she received the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel. Also during 1987, she was in the Australian film The Time Guardian. In 1989, Fisher played a major supporting role in When Harry Met Sally, and in the same year, she appeared with Tom Hanks as his wife in The 'Burbs.

1990s

In 1990, Columbia Pictures released a film version of Postcards from the Edge, adapted for the screen by Fisher and starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, and Dennis Quaid. Fisher appeared in the fantasy comedy film Drop Dead Fred in 1991, and played a therapist in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). During the 1990s, Fisher also published the novels Surrender the Pink (1990) and Delusions of Grandma (1993). Fisher also did uncredited script work for movies such as Lethal Weapon 3 (where she wrote some of Rene Russo's dialogue), Outbreak and The Wedding Singer.

2000s

In the film Scream 3 (2000), Fisher played an actress mistaken for Carrie Fisher. In 2001, Fisher played a nun in the Kevin Smith comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. She also co-wrote the TV comedy film 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 an alcoholic blackout when she married the actress's husband, "Freddy".

Besides acting and writing original works, Fisher was one of the top script doctors in Hollywood, working on the screenplays of other writers. She did uncredited polishes on movies in a 15-year stretch from 1991 to 2005, and was hired by the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, to polish scripts for his 1992 TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, as well as the dialogue for the Star Wars prequel scripts. Her expertise in this area was the reason she was chosen as one of the interviewers for the screenwriting documentary Dreams on Spec in 2007. In an interview in 2004, Fisher said that she no longer did much script doctoring, but during the height of her career as a script doctor and rewriter, she worked on Hook (1991), Lethal Weapon 3 and Sister Act (1992), Made in America, Last Action Hero and So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), My Girl 2, Milk Money, The River Wild and Love Affair (1994), Outbreak (1995), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), The Wedding Singer (1998), The Out-of-Towners and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Coyote Ugly and Scream 3 (2000), Kate & Leopold (2001), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), and Intolerable Cruelty (2003), which she did a rewrite of back in 1994 (although it's not known if any of her work remained after the Coen Brothers rewrote it years later.) Fisher also worked on Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).

In 2005, Women in Film & Video - DC recognized Fisher with the Women of Vision Award.

Fisher also voices Peter Griffin's boss, Angela, on the animated sitcom Family Guy and appeared in a book of photographs titled Hollywood Moms (2001) for which she wrote the introduction. Fisher published a sequel to Postcards, The Best Awful There Is, in 2004. In August 2006, Fisher appeared prominently in the audience of the Comedy Central's Roast of William Shatner. In 2007, she was a full-time judge on FOX's filmmaking-competition reality television series On the Lot.

Fisher wrote and performed in her one-woman play Wishful Drinking at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles from November 7, 2006, to January 14, 2007. Her show played at the Berkeley Repertory Theater through April 2008, followed by performances in San Jose, California, in July 2008, Hartford Stage in August 2008 before moving on to the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in September 2008 and Boston in October 2008. Fisher published her autobiographical book, also titled Wishful Drinking, based on her successful play in December 2008 and embarked on a media tour. On April 2, 2009, Fisher returned to the stage with her play at the Seattle Repertory Theatre with performances through May 9, 2009. On October 4, 2009, Wishful Drinking then opened on Broadway in New York at Studio 54 and played an extended run until January 17, 2010. In December 2009, Fisher's audiobook recording of her best-selling memoir, Wishful Drinking, earned her a nomination for a 2009 Grammy Award in the Best Spoken Word Album category.

Fisher joined Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne on Saturday evenings for The Essentials with informative and entertaining conversation on Hollywood's best films. She guest-starred in the episode titled "Sex and Another City" from season 3 of Sex and the City with Sarah Jessica Parker. This episode also featured Vince Vaughn, Hugh Hefner, and Sam Seder in guest roles. On October 25, 2007, Fisher guest-starred as Rosemary Howard on the second season episode of 30 Rock called "Rosemary's Baby", for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. Her last line in the show was a spoof from Star Wars: "Help me Liz Lemon, You're my only hope!" On April 28, 2008, she was a guest on Deal or No Deal. In 2008, she also had a cameo as a doctor in the Star Wars-related comedy Fanboys.

2010s

In 2010, HBO aired a feature-length documentary based on a special live performance of Fisher's Wishful Drinking stage production. Fisher also appeared on the seventh season of Entourage in the summer of 2010.

In August 2013, she was selected as a member of the main competition jury at the 2013 Venice Film Festival.

In June 2014, she filmed an appearance on the UK comedy panel show QI. It was broadcast on December 25, 2014. In 2015 she starred alongside Sharon Horgan and American comedian Rob Delaney in Catastrophe, a six-part comedy series for the British Channel 4 that aired in the UK from 19 January 2015.

Return to Star Wars

In an interview posted March 2013, confirming she would reprise her role as Princess Leia in Episode VII of the series, she claimed Leia was "Elderly. She’s in an intergalactic old folks’ home . I just think she would be just like she was before, only slower and less inclined to be up for the big battle." After other media outlets reported this on March 6, 2013, her representative said the same day Fisher was joking and nothing has been announced.

On January 21, 2014, in an interview with TV Guide, Carrie Fisher confirmed her involvement and the involvement of the original cast in the upcoming sequels by saying "as for the next Star Wars film, myself, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill are expected to report to work in March or April. I'd like to wear my old cinnamon buns hairstyle again but with white hair. I think that would be funny."

In March 2014, Fisher stated that she was moving to London for six months because that was where filming would take place.

On April 29, 2014, the cast for Star Wars Episode VII was officially announced, and Fisher, along with original trilogy castmates Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker, were all cast in their original roles for the film. New castmates include Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Max von Sydow. Star Wars Episode VII, subtitled The Force Awakens, was released worldwide on December 18, 2015. Fisher was nominated for a 2016 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal.

Personal life

Fisher dated musician Paul Simon from 1977 until 1983. In 1980 she was briefly engaged to Canadian actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd, who proposed on the set of their film The Blues Brothers. She said: "We had rings, we got blood tests, the whole shot. But then I got back together with Paul Simon." Fisher was married to Simon from August 1983 to July 1984, and they dated again for a time after their divorce. During their marriage, she appeared in Simon's music video for the song "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War". Simon's song "Hearts and Bones" is about their relationship.

Subsequently, she had a relationship with Creative Artists Agency principal and talent agent Bryan Lourd. They had one child together, Billie Catherine Lourd (born July 17, 1992). Eddie Fisher states in his autobiography (Been There Done That) his granddaughter's name is Catherine Fisher Lourd and her nickname is "Billy". The couple's relationship ended when Lourd left to be in a relationship with a man. Though Fisher has described Lourd as her second husband in interviews, according to a 2004 profile of the actress and writer, she and Lourd were never legally married.

Fisher also had a close relationship with James Blunt. While working on his album Back to Bedlam in 2003, Blunt spent much of his time at Fisher's residence. When Vanity Fair's George Wayne asked Fisher if their relationship was sexual, she replied: "Absolutely not, but I did become his therapist. He was a soldier. This boy has seen awful stuff. Every time James hears fireworks or anything like that, his heart beats faster, and he gets 'fight or flight.' You know, he comes from a long line of soldiers dating back to the 10th century. He would tell me these horrible stories. He was a captain, a reconnaissance soldier. I became James’ therapist. So it would have been unethical to sleep with my patient."

On February 26, 2005, R. Gregory "Greg" Stevens, a lobbyist, was found dead in Fisher's California home. The final autopsy report lists the cause of death as "cocaine and oxycodone use" but adds chronic, and apparently previously undiagnosed, heart disease as contributing factors. Media coverage of an initial autopsy report used the word "overdose," but that wording is not in the final report. In an interview, Fisher claimed that Stevens's ghost haunted her mansion, which unsettled her: "I was a nut for a year", she explained, "and in that year I took drugs again."

Fisher has described herself as an "enthusiastic agnostic who would be happy to be shown that there is a God". She was raised Protestant, but often attends Jewish services, the faith of her father, with Orthodox friends. She was a spokesperson for Jenny Craig, Inc. weight loss television ads that aired in January 2011.

Mental health

Fisher has publicly discussed her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and her addiction to cocaine and prescription medication, most notably on ABC's 20/20 and The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive with Stephen Fry for the BBC. She discussed her 2008 memoir Wishful Drinking and various topics in it with Matt Lauer on NBC's Today on December 10, 2008, and also revealed that she would have turned down the role of Princess Leia had she realized it would give her the celebrity status that made her parents' lives difficult. This interview was followed by a similar appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on December 12, 2008, where she discussed her electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments. She has said that she receives ECT every six weeks to "blow apart the cement" in her brain.

While she was in Sydney, Australia, Fisher revealed in another interview that she had a cocaine addiction during the filming of The Empire Strikes Back, and also survived an overdose. "Slowly, I realized I was doing a bit more drugs than other people and losing my choice in the matter", she said in an interview.

In 2016, Harvard College awarded Fisher with their 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."

Ancestry

Ancestors of Carrie Fisher

8. David Tisch 4. Joseph Fisher 9. Anna 2. Eddie Fisher 10. Zelig Winokur 5. Katherine Winokur 11. Ida 1. Carrie Fisher 24. James Jefferson Francis Reynolds 12. William Granville Reynolds 25. Darilla Ann Lair 6. Raymond Francis Reynolds 26. Joseph Martin Prigmore 13. Pearl Ruby Prigmore 27. Nancy Elisabeth Vestel 3. Debbie Reynolds 28. Solomon E Harman, Jr. 14. Owen Harmon 29. Sarah Katherine Harper 7. Maxine N. Harmon 30. William Tennessee Dykeman 15. Maxie Boone Dykeman 31. Mary Adeline Rollins

Filmography

Film

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Shampoo	Lorna Karpf
1977	Star Wars	Princess Leia Organa
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Princess Leia Organa
1980	Blues Brothers, TheThe Blues Brothers	Mystery Woman
1981	Under the Rainbow	Annie Clark
1983	Return of the Jedi	Princess Leia Organa
1984	Garbo Talks	Lisa Rolfe
1985	Man with One Red Shoe, TheThe Man with One Red Shoe	Paula
1986	Hannah and Her Sisters	April
1986	Hollywood Vice Squad	Betty Melton
1987	Amazon Women on the Moon	Mary Brown	Segment: "Reckless Youth"
1987	Time Guardian, TheThe Time Guardian	Petra
1988	Appointment with Death	Nadine Boynton
1989	The 'Burbs	Carol Peterson
1989	Loverboy	Monica Delancy
1989	She's Back	Beatrice
1989	When Harry Met Sally...	Marie
1990	Sweet Revenge	Linda
1990	Sibling Rivalry	Iris Turner-Hunter
1991	Drop Dead Fred	Janie
1991	Soapdish	Betsy Faye Sharon
1991	Hook	Woman kissing on bridge	Uncredited role
1992	This Is My Life	Claudia Curtis
1997	Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery	Therapist	Uncredited role
1999	Return of the Ewok	Herself	Short subject, filmed in 1983
2000	Scream 3	Bianca	Cameo
2000	Lisa Picard Is Famous	Herself
2001	Heartbreakers	Ms. Surpin
2001	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back	Nun
2002	Midsummer Night's Rave, AA Midsummer Night's Rave
2003	Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle	Mother Superior
2003	Wonderland	Sally Hansen
2004	Stateside	Mrs. Dubois
2005	Undiscovered	Carrie
2007	Suffering Man's Charity	Reporter
2007	Cougar Club	Glady Goodbey
2008	Women, TheThe Women	Bailey Smith
2009	Fanboys	Doctor	Cameo appearance
2009	White Lightnin'	Cilla
2009	Sorority Row	Mrs. Crenshaw
2010	Wishful Drinking	Herself	HBO documentary of the stage show
2014	Maps to the Stars	Herself
2015	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	General Leia Organa
2017	Star Wars: Episode VIII	General Leia Organa	Filming

Television

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1969	Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children	Girl Scout	TV movie
1977	Come Back, Little Sheba	Marie	Videotaped TV drama
1978	Ringo	Marquine	TV movie
1978	Leave Yesterday Behind	Marnie Clarkson	TV movie
1978	Saturday Night Live	Herself/Host	TV series, episode: Carrie Fisher
1978	The Star Wars Holiday Special	Princess Leia	TV movie
1982	Laverne & Shirley	Cathy	TV series, episode: "The Playboy Show"
1984	Faerie Tale Theatre	Thumbelina	TV series, episode: "Thumbelina"
1984	Frankenstein	Elizabeth	TV movie
1985	From Here to Maternity	Veronica	TV short
1985	George Burns Comedy Week		TV series, episode: "The Couch"
1985	Happily Ever After	Alice Conway	Voice only, TV movie
1986	Liberty	Emma Lazarus	TV movie
1986	Sunday Drive	Franny Jessup	TV movie
1987	Amazing Stories	Laurie McNamara	TV series, episode: "Gershwin's Trunk"
1989	Two Daddies	Alice Conway	Voice only, TV movie
1989	Trying Times	Enid	TV series, episode: "Hunger Chic"
1995	Present Tense, Past Perfect		TV short
1995	Frasier	Phyllis	TV series, episode "Phyllis", voice only
1997	Gun	Nancy	TV series, episode: "The Hole"
1998	Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist	Roz Katz	TV series, episode: "Thanksgiving"
2000	Sex and the City	Herself	TV series, episode: "Sex and Another City"
2001	These Old Broads	Hooker	TV movie
2002	Nero Wolfe Mystery, AA Nero Wolfe Mystery	Ellen Tenzer	TV series, two-part episode: "Motherhunt"
2003	Good Morning, Miami	Judy Silver	TV series, episode: "A Kiss Before Lying"
2004	Jack & Bobby	Madison Skutcher	TV series, episode: "The First Lady"
2005	Smallville	Pauline Kahn	TV series, episode: "Thirst"
2005	Romancing the Bride	Edwina	TV movie
2005-present	Family Guy	Angela	TV series, 26 episodes
2007	Odd Job Jack	Dr. Finch	TV series, episode: "The Beauty Beast"
2007	Weeds	Celia's attorney	TV series, episode: "The Brick Dance"
2007	Side Order of Life	Dr. Gilbert	TV series, episode:" Funeral for a Phone"
2007	30 Rock	Rosemary Howard	TV series, episode: "Rosemary's Baby"
2008	Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II	Princess Leia, Mon Mothma, Krayt Dragon's Mother	TV movie, voice only
2008	Bring Back... Star Wars	Herself	One-off TV episode
2010	Wright vs. Wrong	Joan Harrington	TV movie
2010	Entourage	Anna Fowler	TV series, episode "Tequila and Coke"
2010	Family Guy	Mon Mothma	TV series, episode: "It's a Trap", voice only
2010	A Quiet Word With ...	Herself	Australian TV conversation series, season 1, episode 2
2011	The Talk	Herself	TV series, November 15
2012	It's Christmas, Carol!	Eve	Hallmark TV movie
2012	Comedy Central Roast	Herself	Episode: "The Roast of Roseanne Barr"
2014	The Big Bang Theory	Herself	"The Convention Conundrum"
2014	QI	Herself
2015	Catastrophe	Mia	4 episodes
2015	The Keith Lemon Sketch Show	Princess Leia	TV series

Video games

Video game

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi	Princess Leia
2012	Dishonored	Loudspeaker

Bibliography

Novels

• Postcards from the Edge, 1987, ISBN 0-7434-6651-9
• Surrender the Pink, 1990, ISBN 0-671-66640-1
• Delusions of Grandma, 1993, ISBN 0-684-85803-7
• Hollywood Moms, 2001, (introduction)
• The Best Awful There Is, 2004, ISBN 0-7434-7857-6

Non-fiction

• Wishful Drinking, 2008, ISBN 1-4391-0225-2
• Shockaholic, 2011, ISBN 978-0-7432-6482-2
• The Princess Diarist, 2016

Screenplays

• Postcards from the Edge, 1990
• These Old Broads, 2001
• E-Girl (2007)
• Doctored screenplays for Sister Act (1992), Last Action Hero (1993) and The Wedding Singer (1998)

Plays

• Wishful Drinking, 2006
• Wishful Drinking, 2008 2008
• A Spy in the House of Me, 2008

[ Source: Wikipedia ]