Carrie Fisher's passing in 2016 left a huge gap in Star Wars that can never be filled. The actor, who made a name for herself in the role of Princess Leia, was an integral part of both the original trilogy as well as the sequel films. Though it has been four years since her untimely death, both her daughter and her longtime Star Wars co-star took the time to remember her and share what she meant to them.
Billie Lourd, who has appeared in American Horror Story, Booksmart, and The Last Jedi, posted a moving tribute to her mother on her Instagram account. She wrote that she wanted to send love to anyone else who has lost someone, especially during "this crazy year." The photo has received over 347,000 likes. Lourd's profile contains numerous posts about Fisher, including one from May 4th (the unofficial day dedicated to Star Wars).
Fisher's daughter wasn't the only one who was remembering her on social media. Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, also shared a tribute to his co-star on Instagram. The photo is a screencap of the dedication to Fisher that appears at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, which reads "In Loving Memory of our Princess, Carrie Fisher." Hamill's caption was simple, but captured plenty of emotion: "#AlwaysWithUs," accompanied by a broken heart emoji.
Carrie Fisher passed away from a heart attack on December 27, 2016, while she was aboard a flight to Los Angeles. The next day, Fisher's own mother, Debbie Reynolds, died after suffering a stroke. Fisher appeared in all three sequel trilogy films, and also made a short cameo appearance in Rogue One, where she was digitally de-aged to resemble her appearance in A New Hope. Lourd stood in for Fisher to film some of her scenes in The Rise of Skywalker, which were digitally altered.
Several other cast members of the original Star Wars trilogy have passed away in recent years. In 2019, Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, died of a heart attack. More recently, the world lost two titans of the original trilogy. David Prowse, who famously donned Darth Vader's mask and lent the character an imposing physicality, died on November 28. A few weeks later, the original Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch, died due to complications of Parkinson's.
Source: Deadline