Actress Carrie Fisher, known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, has died

Actress and screenwriter Carrie Fisher died on December 27 in Los Angeles after a heart attack. The news of her death was confirmed by family spokesman Simon Halls. He released a statement on behalf of Fisher's daughter: "It is with deep sadness that we inform you: Billie Lourd confirmed the information that her beloved mother died today at 8:55 am. She was loved all over the world, and she will be greatly missed. Our whole family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers."

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On December 23, on board a plane flying from London to Los Angeles, Fisher suffered a heart attack. Immediately after landing, the actress was taken to the nearest hospital, where she died four days later.

Carrie Fisher was born in 1956 in Beverly Hills to singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. When the girl was two years old, her parents divorced and her father married actress Elizabeth Taylor. Carrie grew up among film, theater and television workers.

Fisher studied acting for a year at the Central School of Speech and Theater in London. She made her acting debut in 1973 in the musical "Irene", where her mother also played. A year later, she began acting in the first film of the George Lucas saga — "Star Wars. Episode IV: A New Hope." The role of Leia Organa-Solo, the princess of the planet Alderaan, made the young actress famous, and all further portrayals of Leia's character were based on Fisher's appearance.

The actress played the role of Leia in three more episodes of the saga: "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980, "Return of the Jedi" in 1983 and "The Force Awakens" in 2015. According to producer Kathleen Kennedy, Fisher was supposed to play in the eighth episode, which is scheduled to premiere on December 14, 2017.

Fisher also starred in the films "The Blues Brothers", "When Harry met Sally", "Jay and Silent Bob strike Back", "Hannah and her Sisters", "Charlie's Angels: Only Forward" and the TV series "Sex and the City", "Secrets of Smallville" and "The Big Bang Theory".

Among other things, Fisher has written several autobiographical novels. Based on her book "Postcards from the Edge of the Abyss", Mike Nichols directed a film of the same name starring Meryl Streep, released in 1990. In July 2015, Fisher announced that she would write a story about the filming of "Star Wars", and in June 2016 began writing a column with memoirs and tips on the website of The Guardian newspaper.