FRIENDS, FANS AND Hollywood stars added their voices to a torrent of tributes for Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, who died Tuesday at the age of 60 following a heart attack.
The screen icon, catapulted to worldwide stardom as rebel warrior Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, was pronounced dead in Los Angeles, four days after collapsing on a transatlantic flight.
The actress had suffered a heart attack while on a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday.
She was given CPR by an emergency responder on board.
News reports on Saturday said Fisher had just finished filming the third season of the Amazon comedy television series Catastrophe, which is set in London and written by Irishwoman Sharon Horgan and comedian Rob Delaney.
Fearless
Her Star Wars co-star Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo in the series, described his friend and colleague as “emotionally fearless”.
He said: “Carrie was one-of-a-kind, brilliant, original. Funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life bravely. We will all miss her.”
Fisher’s other Star Wars friends also paid tribute to the actress and writer.
Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, said: “It’s never easy to lose such a vital, irreplaceable member of the family, but this is downright heartbreaking.
Carrie was one-of-a-kind who belonged to us all whether she liked it or not. She was our princess, damn it, and the actress who played her blurred into one gorgeous, fiercely independent & ferociously funny, take-charge woman who took our collective breath away.
Veteran director and producer Steven Spielberg said he always “stood in awe” of Fisher. He added: “Her observations always made me laugh and gasp at the same time. She didn’t need the force. She was a force of nature, of loyalty and of friendship. I will miss her very much.”
Fisher was catapulted to worldwide stardom as the rebel warrior Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, which has been a cultural phenomenon since the films were released from 1977 to 1983.
She also starred in the most recent Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, reprising her role as Princess Leia.
She was born to Hollywood stars Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, and followed in her parents’ footsteps by pursuing an acting career. She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London for a year, before returning to the USA.
Her breakout role was as General Leia Organa, which she took up when she was just 19. Two more films followed the debut Star Wars film. Fisher went on to star in The Blues Brothers, Hannah and her Sisters, and When Harry Met Sally, and reprised her role as Princess Leia in The Force Awakens last year.
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