CARRIE FISHER
Name: Carrie Frances Fisher
Born: 21 October 1956 Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress,
screenwriter and novelist. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia
Organa in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Fisher was born in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of singer Eddie
Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds; her paternal grandparents were Jewish
immigrants from Russia. Her younger brother is Todd Fisher and her half-sisters
are actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher, whose mother is actress
Connie Stevens.
When Fisher was two, her parents divorced and her father married actress
Elizabeth Taylor. The following year, her mother married shoe store chain owner
Harry Karl. It was assumed from an early age that Fisher would go into the
family business; she began appearing with her mother in Las Vegas at age 12. She
attended Beverly Hills High School but left to join her mother on the road. She
appeared as a debutante and singer in the hit Broadway revival Irene (1973)
starring her mother.
Soon after, Fisher enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama,
which she attended for 18 months. She made her film debut in the Columbia comedy
Shampoo (1975) starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn, with Lee
Grant and Jack Warden.
In 1977, Fisher starred as Princess Leia Organa in George Lucas' sci-fi film
Star Wars opposite Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford.
The huge success of Star Wars made her internationally famous. The character of
Princess Leia became a merchandising triumph; there were small plastic action
figures of the Princess in toy stores across the United States. She appeared as
Princess Leia in the 1978 made-for-TV movie, The Star Wars Holiday Special.
Fisher hosted the Saturday Night Live episode that included the second
performance by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as their popular Blues Brothers
characters.
Fisher appeared in the music video for Ringo Starr's cover of "You're Sixteen"
as the love interest in 1978 on Ringo's TV special of that year.
Fisher later appeared in The Blues Brothers movie in a cameo role as Joliet Jake's
vengeful ex-lover, listed in the credits as "Mystery Woman." She appeared on
Broadway in Censored Scenes From King Kong in 1980. That year, she appeared
again as Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. She made
her third and final appearance as Leia in the series in Star Wars Episode VI:
Return of the Jedi. After her appearance wearing a golden metal bikini, or slave
girl outfit, that almost immediately rose to pop culture icon status, Fisher
became a sex symbol for a short period. She also was a
replacement in the Broadway production of Agnes of God (1982).
In 1987, Fisher published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge. The book was
semi-autobiographical in the sense that she fictionalized and satirized real
life events such as her drug addiction of the late 1970s. It became a
bestseller, and she received the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel.
Fisher played a major supporting role in When Harry Met Sally in 1989. In 1989,
she also played opposite of Tom Hanks as his wife in The Burbs.
In 1990, Columbia Pictures released a movie version of Postcards from the Edge,
adapted for the screen by Fisher and starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine,
and Dennis Quaid. She also appeared in the movie Drop Dead Fred in 1991. In 1997,
Fisher appeared as a therapist in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
She is one of the few actors to star in movies with both John and Jim Belushi,
later appearing with the latter in the movie The Man with One Red Shoe. During
the 1990s Fisher also published the novels Surrender the Pink (1991) and
Delusions of Grandma (1993).
In the movie Scream 3 (2000), Fisher played an actress mistaken for Carrie
Fisher. ("Yeah, I was up for the part of Princess Leia. But who gets it? The
girl who slept with George Lucas!") Director's commentary on the Scream 3 DVD
suggests that the sequence was in fact penned by Fisher herself. In 2001, Fisher
appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. This was the first time she took
part in a movie together with Mark Hamill since the original Star Wars trilogy (although
neither actor realized this until the premiere).
She also co-wrote the TV comedy movie These Old Broads (2001), of which she was
also co-executive producer. It starred her mother, Debbie Reynolds, as well as
Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, and Shirley MacLaine. In this, Taylor's
character, an agent, explains to Reynolds' character, an actress, that she was
in an alcoholic blackout when she married the actress' husband, "Freddy."
Besides acting and writing original works, Fisher is one of the best-known
script doctors in Hollywood, working on the screenplays of other writers. She
has done uncredited polishes on movies starting with Steven Spielberg's Hook and
continuing today. Her expertise in this area is why she was
interviewed for the screenwriting documentary Dreams on Spec in 2007.
Fisher also plays Peter Griffin's boss on the animated sitcom Family Guy and
appeared in a book of photographs titled Hollywood Moms (2001) for which she
wrote the introduction.
Fisher published a Suzanne Vale sequel novel, The Best Awful There Is in 2004.
Since Postcards from the Edge, Vale has married, become a parent, and divorced.
She also is undergoing treatment for bipolar disorder but is not entirely
comfortable with her "normal" self.
Fisher wrote and performed in her one-woman play "Wishful Drinking" at the
Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles from November 7, 2006, to January 14, 2007.
Her show is currently playing at the Berkeley Repertory Theater through March,
2008.
She is a full-time judge on FOX's filmmaking-competition reality TV series On
the Lot.
Fisher recently joined Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne on Saturday
evenings for The Essentials with informative and entertaining conversation on
Hollywoods best films.
She guest-starred in the episode titled "Sex and Another City" from season 3 of
Sex and the City with Sarah Jessica Parker. This episode also featured Vince
Vaughn in a guest role.
On October 25, 2007, Carrie guest starred on 30 Rock for the "Rosemary's Baby"
Episode 4 of Season 2. She starred as Rosemary Howard. Her last line in the show
was a spoof from Star Wars: "Help me Liz Lemon, You're my only hope!".
Name: Carrie Frances Fisher
Born: 21 October 1956 Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress,
screenwriter and novelist. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia
Organa in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Fisher was born in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of singer Eddie
Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds; her paternal grandparents were Jewish
immigrants from Russia. Her younger brother is Todd Fisher and her half-sisters
are actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher, whose mother is actress
Connie Stevens.
When Fisher was two, her parents divorced and her father married actress
Elizabeth Taylor. The following year, her mother married shoe store chain owner
Harry Karl. It was assumed from an early age that Fisher would go into the
family business; she began appearing with her mother in Las Vegas at age 12. She
attended Beverly Hills High School but left to join her mother on the road. She
appeared as a debutante and singer in the hit Broadway revival Irene (1973)
starring her mother.
Soon after, Fisher enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama,
which she attended for 18 months. She made her film debut in the Columbia comedy
Shampoo (1975) starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn, with Lee
Grant and Jack Warden.
In 1977, Fisher starred as Princess Leia Organa in George Lucas' sci-fi film
Star Wars opposite Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford.
The huge success of Star Wars made her internationally famous. The character of
Princess Leia became a merchandising triumph; there were small plastic action
figures of the Princess in toy stores across the United States. She appeared as
Princess Leia in the 1978 made-for-TV movie, The Star Wars Holiday Special.
Fisher hosted the Saturday Night Live episode that included the second
performance by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as their popular Blues Brothers
characters.
Fisher appeared in the music video for Ringo Starr's cover of "You're Sixteen"
as the love interest in 1978 on Ringo's TV special of that year.
Fisher later appeared in The Blues Brothers movie in a cameo role as Joliet Jake's
vengeful ex-lover, listed in the credits as "Mystery Woman." She appeared on
Broadway in Censored Scenes From King Kong in 1980. That year, she appeared
again as Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. She made
her third and final appearance as Leia in the series in Star Wars Episode VI:
Return of the Jedi. After her appearance wearing a golden metal bikini, or slave
girl outfit, that almost immediately rose to pop culture icon status, Fisher
became a sex symbol for a short period. She also was a
replacement in the Broadway production of Agnes of God (1982).
In 1987, Fisher published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge. The book was
semi-autobiographical in the sense that she fictionalized and satirized real
life events such as her drug addiction of the late 1970s. It became a
bestseller, and she received the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel.
Fisher played a major supporting role in When Harry Met Sally in 1989. In 1989,
she also played opposite of Tom Hanks as his wife in The Burbs.
In 1990, Columbia Pictures released a movie version of Postcards from the Edge,
adapted for the screen by Fisher and starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine,
and Dennis Quaid. She also appeared in the movie Drop Dead Fred in 1991. In 1997,
Fisher appeared as a therapist in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
She is one of the few actors to star in movies with both John and Jim Belushi,
later appearing with the latter in the movie The Man with One Red Shoe. During
the 1990s Fisher also published the novels Surrender the Pink (1991) and
Delusions of Grandma (1993).
In the movie Scream 3 (2000), Fisher played an actress mistaken for Carrie
Fisher. ("Yeah, I was up for the part of Princess Leia. But who gets it? The
girl who slept with George Lucas!") Director's commentary on the Scream 3 DVD
suggests that the sequence was in fact penned by Fisher herself. In 2001, Fisher
appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. This was the first time she took
part in a movie together with Mark Hamill since the original Star Wars trilogy (although
neither actor realized this until the premiere).
She also co-wrote the TV comedy movie These Old Broads (2001), of which she was
also co-executive producer. It starred her mother, Debbie Reynolds, as well as
Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, and Shirley MacLaine. In this, Taylor's
character, an agent, explains to Reynolds' character, an actress, that she was
in an alcoholic blackout when she married the actress' husband, "Freddy."
Besides acting and writing original works, Fisher is one of the best-known
script doctors in Hollywood, working on the screenplays of other writers. She
has done uncredited polishes on movies starting with Steven Spielberg's Hook and
continuing today. Her expertise in this area is why she was
interviewed for the screenwriting documentary Dreams on Spec in 2007.
Fisher also plays Peter Griffin's boss on the animated sitcom Family Guy and
appeared in a book of photographs titled Hollywood Moms (2001) for which she
wrote the introduction.
Fisher published a Suzanne Vale sequel novel, The Best Awful There Is in 2004.
Since Postcards from the Edge, Vale has married, become a parent, and divorced.
She also is undergoing treatment for bipolar disorder but is not entirely
comfortable with her "normal" self.
Fisher wrote and performed in her one-woman play "Wishful Drinking" at the
Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles from November 7, 2006, to January 14, 2007.
Her show is currently playing at the Berkeley Repertory Theater through March,
2008.
She is a full-time judge on FOX's filmmaking-competition reality TV series On
the Lot.
Fisher recently joined Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne on Saturday
evenings for The Essentials with informative and entertaining conversation on
Hollywoods best films.
She guest-starred in the episode titled "Sex and Another City" from season 3 of
Sex and the City with Sarah Jessica Parker. This episode also featured Vince
Vaughn in a guest role.
On October 25, 2007, Carrie guest starred on 30 Rock for the "Rosemary's Baby"
Episode 4 of Season 2. She starred as Rosemary Howard. Her last line in the show
was a spoof from Star Wars: "Help me Liz Lemon, You're my only hope!".