Carrie Fisher was one of those celebs who were taken from us too soon. The actress and writer, who was probably best known for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, passed away on December 27, 2016 at the age of 60.
While Fisher received no shortage of praise and accolades from those who knew her — both during her life and after she passed — a simple tribute from her daughter Billie might just be the most powerful we've seen.
In a 2016 autobiography, Fisher pulled no punches when describing her career. She struggled with bipolar disorder throughout her life and used prescription medications to help her cope.
After her early career success as Princess Leia, Fisher mostly opted for off-camera roles in her later career. She became known as an ace script doctor and reworked many movie scripts, including hits like Hook, Sister Act, and The Wedding Singer.
The character was originally envisioned by George Lucas, who described her as a spoiled teenager. But when Carrie Fisher was cast as the princess at the age of 19, she quickly made the character her own. Far from being a stereotypical helpless princess character, Leia showed her mettle throughout the original trilogy — and in a few cameos later on.
If you asked Carrie Fisher, though, she'd say that she would rather have played Han Solo.
Fisher was in a relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd in the early '90s. Although they were never legally married, Fisher referred to him as her "second husband" (after Paul Simon, to whom she was married in the '80s).
Fisher and Lourd didn't stay together for long, but their union did produce a daughter, Billie Lourd, who was born in 1992.
She never had a second child, but she did have an emotional support French bulldog named Gary. Following her death, reports indicated that Billie would take care of Gary.
Accompanied by a beautiful candid photo of mother and daughter, Lourd's message on Instagram expressed her gratitude for her mother — along with a few thoughts on the grieving process in general.
"I wish my Momby were here, but she isn't," she wrote. "So all I can do is hold onto the magic harder, hug my kids a little tighter. Tell them a story about her. Share her favorite things with them. Tell them how much she would have loved them."
