Popular writer and actress Carrie Fisher passed away this morning at age 60, after suffering a heart attack on a plane en route from London to her home in Los Angeles two days before Christmas. Fisher was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center, where she was treated for a heart attack though never regained consciousness.
Fisher was in London promoting her recently published book, The Princess Diarist, her third memoir, in addition to four novels and a one-woman Broadway show.
Her 24-year old daughter, Billie Lourd, confirmed the news in a statement to the press:
“It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”
Fisher was most famous for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, but she stayed active as a creative following the series as an actress and writer, and was admired for her wry humor and willingness to speak openly about her struggles with drug addiction and mental illness.
The daughter of singer and actor Eddie Fisher, she is survived by her daughter, Billie, her mother Debbie Reynolds, her brother Todd Fisher and her half-sisters Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher and her dog, Gary.
Image of Fisher and Gary via her Twitter.
