When I Wanted to be a Princess.

The in Cinnamon Bun do!

To look back on my childhood, I can honestly say that I'm proud to be part of the generation that grew up with Star Wars. My crush started with Luke Skywalker, but I switched to Han Solo. Something in my little girl brain must have recognized that Luke was a bit wishy-washy, and the Force was not going to help him overcome that. Oh, but there was another Force...Princess Leia. She was large, okay, not large, tiny, but her personality was large and in charge. In a recent Stephen Colbert appearance, they were joking that Princess Leia saw her home planet destroyed, and yet she comforted Luke when Obi-Wan Kenobi died (see...wishy-washy.) I wanted to be her. And I wanted to hug Chewey. I was delighted when they re-released the Trilogy when it was digitally remastered and edited. I loved the Pre-Quels. And I couldn't get to the theater soon enough to see Star Wars VI: The Force Awakens. It was as good as it was hyped. Princess Leia was now GENERAL Leia Organa. And still as tough as ever.

What a scruffy nerf herder!!

Of course, as a child, I never stopped to realize how unusual it was for a woman to have such a strong character in a movie. It was revolutionary. Especially in the 1970s. I mean, look at us now. It's 2016 and we still haven't elected a woman president and though women are making strides, we're not near the number of men that serve in Congress. But Carrie Fisher made a blazing path.

That would be General Leia Organa to you.

Yesterday, on December 27, 2016, Carrie Fisher passed away four days after having a major heart attack on a plane 15 minutes out from arriving at LAX. I hope she died in peace.

But let's make no mistake here. Carrie Fisher was not Princess Leia. Her legacy will not be a character in a movie because her force was so much stronger than the one wielded in the movies.

Does Gary know what his mother's doing with that stormtrooper?
Is the stormtrooper trying to get help from Gary?

She got pigeon-holed in the Princess Leia character. And that's really too bad. To think that at the very beginning of her acting career she nailed such an iconic role that it defined her whole life is a little sad. Can you imagine going into an audition and not getting it because the person you're auditioning for can think of nothing but "Princess Leia?" That is not to say that she didn't have a successful career as an actress. She did. She also had a successful writing career, not only writing seven books but working on screenplays too.

It is a shame that she was typecast that way. And I wonder if that's because she hit a roadblock with feminism in Hollywood. After all, Harrison Ford didn't have any problem shedding the Han Solo character. In fact, he's starred in more than one film series. When I think of him, I think "Harrison Ford," not "Han Solo."

Beautiful

Carrie was the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher and grew up in the spotlight. She was in the newspapers before she was even born! And she became an adult in the 70s. Drugs and booze were mainstays at that time, and she did them. Even with her father.

She struggled with those addictions, and she struggled with bipolar. Really, nothing new there, right? Even if she overcame it, it wasn't like it would make the news. But she decided to share her story. She came out and she owned that she was an addict and had a mental illness, and she was one of the first celebrities to do so. 

Momma Fisher and Gary

Like Princess Leia's character so many years ago, she was a trailblazer once again as an advocate for both addictions and mental illness. She fought against the stigma and she stood up for everyone who was also affected. And she did it in a way that was hysterically funny, sarcastic, and self-deprecating while at the same time showing just how strong she really was. She was a genious.

Couch talk must be boring

I have always dealt with things with a sense of humor. And it was refreshing to hear her. And it has lead me to live my life the same way. Guess what folks, my brain is ill, deal with it. Thank you, Carrie, for that. Thank you for telling it like it is, for standing up to people and for people, for taking on Hollywood as an actress and author. She was brash, harsh, brutally honest, hysterically funny, kind, compassionate and so very intelliegent. She is someone I would've loved to have known.

So who was Carrie Fisher? She was a woman with humility, and with a mental illness. She was a daughter who despite their problems, adored her mother. She was a mother of her own, to a beautiful daughter. She was Todd's big sister. And she was an animal lover, always having her French bulldog, Gary, with her. Even on red carpets, he escorted her. And she was an actress who played a character named Princess Leia. But in real life, she wasn't a princess, she was a badass warrior queen who loved life despite the pain she endured. Her fight is now over and it's now time for her to go to a galaxy far, far away called Heaven. She may be gone from us, but her legacy will live on.

Carrie Fisher 

October 21, 1956 - December 27, 2016

 As I was writing this blog, news came out that Carrie's mother, Debbie Reynolds, was rushed to the hospital while she was at her son's house planning Carrie's funeral. Apparently, she suffered a stroke and later on passed away. So she is among the angels now, walking hand in hand with her daughter. The pain that she has been through the last five days is over. I hope their family and friends can take comfort in that. My heart, prayers, and love go out to them as they deal with this awful blow.

Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, January 25, 2015, at the SAG Awards
Carrie presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to her mother.