Carrie Fisher, the iconic actress who portrayed Princess Leia in the Star Wars series, has died following a massive heart attack last week. She was 60.
The daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher, the actress made her Broadway debut as a teenager in Irene, which starred her mother. After making her big screen debut in 1975’s Shampoo and briefly enrolling in London’s Central School of Speech and Drama and then Sarah Lawrence College, Fisher dropped out, at the age of 19, after landing the role of Princess Leia in George Lucas’ 1977 space epic Star Wars.
To commemorate Carrie Fisher’s storied life and star-studded career, we look back at her iconic character and explore why Princess Leia was the ultimate girl power icon:
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Leia Organa, the original Star Wars heroine, is one princess who takes charge, and then some. In a world filled with complacent and passive Disney princesses (and technically, Leia IS a Disney Princess now), it’s refreshing to see a royal who is so thoroughly a badass and can hold her own against the men in her life.
Rapunzel can go home. In the midst of an intergalactic war, Princess Leia always had stellar hair. From the milkmaid look, to a single long plait, to the iconic cinnamon buns, her look was never bland or boring and was perfectly balanced out with monochrome outfits. Best of all, her style endured the years and several movies.
Even though Luke is a Jedi, he’s also not as cool as his sister. She isn’t given a lot of credit for her heroism in the original trilogy but her strength is especially apparent in A New Hope, when she is tortured by a Sith Lord to find out the location of the secret Rebel base — and tells him nothing. You go girl!
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The Han and Leia love story is, absolutely, one of the most epic love stories of all time and not because they live happily ever after. It’s because they don’t! They question each other constantly. They have differences of opinion and, instead of letting that be a negative, they use each other’s points of view to become better people.
There’s a reason that Princess Leia became a symbol of inspiration and accomplishment to young girls from multiple generations, and it wasn’t because she had a sassy mouth on her. She also had a big heart. One example that comes to mind is when Leia takes the time to console Luke — who she just met — about the death of Obi-Wan in A New Hope.
Let’s be honest…everyone wanted a gold bikini when Princess Leia appeared in one in Return Of The Jedi. Anyone even remotely aware of Star Wars has either seen, heard, or fantasised about the costume but despite the fact that it overly-sexualise Leia, it doesn’t change her story. You know, the one where she kills her slave master and saves herself.
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One of the things we admired about Princess Leia was that she was a complex character that was not merely there to act as a love interest to anyone. She could demolish an opponent with a fierce verbal jab, she was continuously resilient in the face of torture and could take out those who demean her with little hesitation. In fact, many modern-day heroines were based indirectly on Leia.
Merely the idea of being a Princess is enough for some girls, but not Leia. This girl wanted to see the galaxy change for the better and she didn’t sit around all day waiting for someone else to make it happen. She got involved in politics, and at 18-years-old became the youngest Imperial senator ever elected.
Young Leia will always have a special place in our hearts but it is older Leia who really earns our respect. Almost 40 years in real world time later, Leia had not only stayed active in the Rebellion, but ascended in the ranks to become an important and compassionate leader with new wounds to heal as she fights against the loss of her son to the Dark Side.
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Perhaps the number one reason why we love Princess Leia so much was the fact that she was portrayed by the incomparable Carrie Fisher. While she was best known for her role as an iconic intergalactic princess, the 60-year-old actress was also a screenwriter, author and memoirist with a wise – and wicked – sense of humor. Rest in peace Carrie Fisher, you may be gone but you won’t be forgotten.