Carrie Fisher didn't expect to become famous, let alone the icon of a major franchise.
Daughter to actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher, she started studying the arts as a young adult, and then sort of fell into showbusiness by taking one small job and then landing the role of a lifetime. In 1977, Princess Leia in George Lucas's A New Hope became a beacon for what would become generations of fans. Her character's intelligence, tenacity and resilient attitude set herself among the best and most beloved heroines in film history.
After being absent from the big screen for nearly thirty years, the fandom never thought Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia would ever return. When Disney rebooted the franchise in 2015 with The Force Awakens, one of the greatest most anticipating moments was to see the original characters come back. Leia returned as a sophisticated General still fighting the good fight against evil. Though Fisher unexpectedly passed away in December 2016, a year before the eighth film and most recent installment The Last Jedi hit theaters, her character and performance became a sudden a goodbye that has meant the world to so many fans, including myself.
The legacy she leaves behind both on and off the screen is unforgettable. Now that the eighth movie has hit theaters, I thought now would be the best time to send out a simple Thank You to Carrie and our Princess Leia with thirteen moving tributes celebrating her humor, confidence, bravery, spontaneity, vulnerability, and pure bad-assery. May the Force Be With You.
