Carrie Fisher Getting An Overdue Honor At May The 4th Celebration
Carrie Fisher was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
More than 40 years after the release of Star Wars in May of 1977, the late Carrie Fisher received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. NPR reported that the ceremony took place the morning of May the 4th, otherwise known as Star Wars Day. Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, accepted the honor on her mother’s behalf.
Carrie Fisher received a spot on the legendary sidewalk right across the street from the Walk of Fame star for her mother, Singin’ in the Rain actress Debbie Reynolds. And just a few feet from Fisher’s cemented place in history is that of her Star Wars co-star, Mark Hamill, who, along with Lourd, spoke at the ceremony.
Billie Lourd starred alongside Carrie Fisher in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Though she is a Star Wars fan now, Lourd admitted that was not always the case.
When she first watched Star Wars, she did not want to like it; to her, Carrie Fisher was simply Mom. “Like any kid, I didn’t want my mom to be hot or cool — she was my Mom,” Lourd said. “But that day, staring at the screen, I realized no one is, or will ever be, as hot or as cool as Princess Leia.”
Billie Lourd gushed about the legacy of Princess Leia, which means so much to so many people. She called the character the perfect embodiment of femininity, simultaneously beautiful and strong.
Carrie Fisher originated the role of Princess Leia in 1977 alongside Hamill’s Luke Skywalker and Harrison Ford as Han Solo. She played the part through the rest of the original Star Wars trilogy, and more than 30 years later, she returned to the role for Disney’s revival of the franchise in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Fisher passed away from a heart attack in December 2016 before the release of The Last Jedi.
Her part in the conclusion of that trilogy, 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, was pieced together posthumously with unused footage from The Force Awakens. “Playing the iconic Princess Leia would be more than enough on its own,” Lourd said. “But my mom isn’t just Princess Leia — she is Carrie Fisher.”
Indeed, Carrie Fisher accomplished a lot outside of her role as Princess Leia. She made notable appearances in classics like When Harry Met Sally… and The Blues Brothers. Fisher received Emmy award nominations for her guest appearance on the Tina Fey sitcom 30 Rock and for her own one-woman show, Wishful Drinking.
Friends and family of Carrie Fisher remember her fondly. Mark Hamill recalled that, even upon first meeting her, he recognized Carrie Fisher as wise beyond her years. Fisher’s Walk of Fame ceremony took place under the unfortunate shadow of family drama, which led to Lourd excluding Fisher’s three siblings from the event.
Despite the tension in the family, the honor for Carrie Fisher was still imparted. The actress’s legacy was already immortal, but now she has the Walk of Fame star to prove it.
The life of Carrie Fisher was complex and often rocky. She struggled with drug addiction and mental illness through periods of her life, and she wrote candidly about those experiences. Fisher’s troubling times have been far outweighed by the memory of her good humor and the impact of her work.
The legacy of Carrie Fisher is one of life, love, and hope. Princess Leia may be a work of fiction, but what she represents is very real. Carrie Fisher immortalized those values of hope and strength for generations of women, and she will always be remembered.
