Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher has died at the age of 60. The actress died on Tuesday, 27 December, following a heart attack on the plane while flying from London to Los Angeles on 23 December.
Family spokesperson, Simon Halls, released a statement to HELLO! on behalf of the late movie star’s only child, daughter Billie Lourd. “It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,” the statement read. “She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”
Carrie was just 60 years old
Carrie went into cardiac arrest on Friday, December 23, while on board a flight from London to Los Angeles. On Christmas Day, film star Debbie Reynolds took to Twitter to share an update on her daughter’s condition, tweeting, "Carrie is in stable condition. If there is a change, we will share it. For all her fans & friends. I thank you for your prayers & good wishes.”
The Princess Diarist author's brother Todd spoke about his sister's condition, telling Variety: "We have to wait and be patient. We have so little information ourselves. She's in the intensive care unit and everybody's praying for her. There's nothing new from the doctors. There's nothing new at all. … There's no good news or bad news."
The much loved star played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy from 1977 –1983, alongside Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, later reprising the role in 2015, staring in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Carrie starred in many popular films during her life, including When Harry Met Sally, The Blues Brothers and Hannah and her Sisters. In 2000, she appeared in Scream 3, playing an actress who was mistaken for Carrie Fisher.
Earlier this year, the star revealed in her autobiography, The Princess Diarist, that she and co-star Harrison Ford had embarked on a three -month affair when the actress was just 19 (Harrison was 14 years her senior). The admission came after years of fans asking her if any romance had ever happened between the pair to mirror that of their alter–egos Princes Leia and Han Solo.
Remembering her affair with her co-star, Carrie told The Guardian earlier this year, "He softened a bit, you know, to the degree that Harrison can soften. And we stayed together for the remainder of the film. It was never going to be more than that. I didn’t think it was going to be even that.”