Farewell, Princess Leia. May the Force Be With You

Carrie Fisher, the actress, writer and High Princess of Hollywood, has died. She was 60.

Fisher, who became an international superstar as Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” films, died Tuesday night Bangladesh time, after suffering from a massive heart attack on Friday while on a flight. Fisher was rushed from Los Angeles International Airport to UCLA Medical Center after the plane landed around noon Pacific Time.

Carrie Fisher was born to actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher on October 21, 1956. Reynolds’ marriage famously broke up when Eddie Fisher had an affair with Elizabeth Taylor. She often remarked that she was born in the spotlight, and her life and career reflected the highs and lows of the entertainment business.

Fisher entered the glitzy world of showbiz fairly early when she acted alongside her mother in the Broadway play “Irene”. Her film debut came a couple of years later with the hit comedy “Shampoo”, co-starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn. But it was 1977’s “Star Wars” (later renamed “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) that made Fisher a worldwide star. Princess Leia, the fierce, fearless Rebel Alliance leader and leader of the planet Alderaan, shone alongside Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker.

Watch Carrie Fisher’s audition tape for “A New Hope”.

The film bagged six Academy Awards and launched one of the most iconic film franchises of all time. In the two coming films -- “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and “Return of the Jedi” (1983) – of the ‘original trilogy’, she created some of Hollywood’s most memorable screen moments.

She was not part of the Star Wars ‘prequel’ trilogy of the ‘90s, but returned when the continuation of the original trilogy in 2015’s “The Force Awakens”.

After the “Star Wars” series, Fisher held a strong foothold in Hollywood, with films like “The Blues Brothers”, Nora Ephron’s rom-com “When Harry Met Sally”, “Garbo Talks”, “Hannah and Her Sisters”, and “The ‘Burbs”, a black comedy starring Tom Hanks.

Her most recent critical acclaim came in hit TV series “30 Rock”, where her guest role landed her an Emmy nomination. She appeared in a number of popular TV series in guest shots, including “Sex and the City”, “Frasier”, “Entourage”, “Smalleville” and “Weeds”, among others.

Fisher proved her writing prowess with the best-selling 1987 novel “Postcards From the Edge”, and also wrote screenplay for its 1990 film adaptation, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine. Her other major literary work include the autobiographical “Wishful Drinking”, and the latest in that line was “The Princess Diarist”, a memoir of her “Star Wars” years.

Throughout her life, Fisher remained open and frank about her struggles with drugs and mental health. Her outspokenness about addiction earned her a lifetime achievement award from Harvard College this year for cultural humanitarianism.

Only last month, Fisher revealed that while filming the original “Star Wars” she had a three-month affair with co-star Harrison Ford. “It was so intense,” Fisher said of the secret affair. “It was Han and Leia during the week, and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend.”

Fisher’s personal life was quite colorful too. She dated Paul Simon (of the folk/country duo Simon & Garfunkel) and married him in 1983, but it lasted less than a year. Fisher had one child with Bryan Lourd, daughter Billie Catherine Lourd, in 1992. They were never married but she often referred to Lourd as her second husband.

In “The Force Awakens”, the moment where Han and Leia (now General Leia, a frontline leader of the Resistance) meet was an ethereal sequence for the tens of millions of Star Wars fans. Rather fittingly, her last words in the film are “May the Force be with you” to Rey, as Rey embarks on the quest to find Luke.

Watch the clip here:

As big as Han Solo’s death was a shock to fans, there was comfort in knowing that Leia would be back in the next installment, “Star Wars: Episode VIII” (due next December). And Fisher had finished filming for it shortly before her demise.

Seeing her on screen that one final time in her most iconic role is going to be very hard for every Star Wars fan, this writer included. I cannot wait for December 15, 2017 (when “Episode VIII” comes) and yet, I cannot come to terms with it. There is an unmistakable disturbance in the Force, and I don’t know what can ever bring balance to it.