Carrie Fisher

Infobox actor


caption = Fisher at the Star Wars Celebration IV, 2007
birthdate = birth date and age|1956|10|21
birthplace = Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
birthname = Carrie Frances Fisher
spouse = Paul Simon (1983-1984)
yearsactive = 1975 – present

Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, screenwriter and novelist. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.

Biography

Early life

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. [ [http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/991015/fisher.shtml Fisher] , JewishAZ.] Her younger brother is Todd Fisher. Her half-sisters are actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher. Joely and Tricia's 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.

Career

1970s

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 "" opposite Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, a part she claims to have obtained by sleeping "with some nerd". [cite news | last = Wayne | first = George | title = The Princess Diaries | work = Vanity Fair | date = November 2006 | url = http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2006/11/wayne_carriefisher200611?currentPage=2 |quote=I would be remiss if I didn’t ask how you ended up in Star Wars. I slept with some nerd. I hope it was George. You weren’t sure? No … I took too many drugs to remember]

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. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76O6tuJPe3w YouTube - You're Sixteen - Ringo Starr ] ] [ [http://www.ringostarr.com/biography.php The Official Ringo Starr Site ] ]

1980s

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 '. She made her third and final appearance as Leia in the series in '. 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 is one of the few actors or actresses to star in movies with both John and Jim Belushi, later appearing with the latter in the movie "The Man with One Red Shoe". She also was a replacement in the Broadway production of "Agnes of God" (1982). She appeared in the Woody Allen film "Hannah and her Sisters" in 1986.

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. [Copyright page states the book was originally published in hardcover in 1987.] 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".

1990s

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 "". During the 1990s Fisher also published the novels "Surrender the Pink" (1991) and "Delusions of Grandma" (1993).

2000s

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 played a nun in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back".

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.Fact|date=August 2008 She has done uncredited polishes on movies starting with Steven Spielberg's "Hook" and continuing today.Fact|date=October 2007 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.

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.cite news |last=Waxman |first=Sharon |url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/theater/15fish.html?th&emc=th |date=2006-11-15 | title = Comedic Postscripts From the Edge | publisher = The New York Times | accessdate = 2007-03-14] Her show played at the Berkeley Repertory Theater through April, 2008. [ [http://www.berkeleyrep.org/season/0708/2121.asp Berkeley Repertory Theatre ] ] "Wishful Drinking" played at Hartford Stage in August 2008 [ [http://www.hartfordstage.org/about/press-release-detail.php?RF_ITEM [] =pressrelease$0@68] ] before moving on to the Arena Stage in Washington, DC in September 2008 and Boston [ [http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/10/04/im_pretty_sane_about_my_insanity/?page=1 Boston Globe] ] in October 2008.

In 2007 she was 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, Hugh Hefner and Sam Seder in a guest role. On October 25, 2007, Fisher guest-starred on 30 Rock for the "Rosemary's Baby" Episode 4 of Season 2 for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. 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!". On April 28, 2008, she was a guest on Deal or No Deal.

Personal life

Fisher was married to musician Paul Simon and was in a relationship with him for several years afterwards. During their marriage, she appeared in Simon's music video for the track "Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War". She is referenced in many of Simon's songs, including "Hearts and Bones", "Graceland", "She Moves On", and "Allergies".

Subsequently, she had a relationship with Creative Artists Agency principal and agent Bryan Lourd. They had one child together, Billie Catherine Lourd (born July 17, 1992). The couple's relationship ended when Lourd left her for a man. She was linked for a time to Senator Christopher Dodd and was briefly engaged to Dan Aykroyd. She also dated broadcast reporter Bob Tur in 2004-2005.

In an interview on public radio in 2005, Fisher joked that she was afraid if she ever became senile she might begin to slip back into her Princess Leia character. Fisher has publicly discussed her problems with drugs, her battles with bipolar disorder, and overcoming an addiction to prescription medication, most notably on ABC TV's "20/20" and The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive with Stephen Fry on the BBC.

Fisher has described herself as an "enthusiastic agnostic who would be happy to be shown that there is a God." [ [http://talentdevelop.com/spirituality2.html spirituality: page 2 ] ] She was raised Protestant [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59350811.html?dids=59350811:59350811&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+24%2C+1994&author=HILARY+de+VRIES&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Q+%26+A+Hollywood+Times+Three+Debbie+Reynolds+and+Carrie+Fisher+discuss+Hollywood+families%2C+not-so-fictional+novels-and+baby+Billie's+there+to+chaperone&pqatl=google Q & A Hollywood Times Three Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher discuss Hollywood families, not-so-fictional novels-and baby Billie's there to chaperone ] ] and often attends Jewish services. [ [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/34509/format/html/displaystory.html j. - Been there, drank that: Carrie Fisher’s solo play swills it all ] ]

Filmography

* "Shampoo" (1975)
* "" (1977)
* "The Star Wars Holiday Special" (1978)
* "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video" (1979)
* "" (1980)
* "The Blues Brothers" (1980)
* "Under the Rainbow" (1981)
* "" (1983)
* "Garbo Talks" (1984)
* "The Man with One Red Shoe" (1985)
* "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986)
* "Hollywood Vice Squad" (1986)
* "The Time Guardian" (1987)
* "Amazon Women on the Moon" (1987)
* "Appointment with Death" (1988)
* "She's Back" (1989)
* "The 'Burbs" (1989)
* "Loverboy" (1989)
* "When Harry Met Sally..." (1989)
* "Sweet Revenge" (1990)
* "Sibling Rivalry" (1990)
* "Drop Dead Fred" (1991)
* "Soapdish" (1991)
* "Hook" (1991)
* "This Is My Life" (1992)
* "" (1997)
* "Return of the Ewok" (1999) (short subject) (filmed in 1983)
* "Scream 3" (2000)
* "Lisa Picard is Famous" (2000) (Cameo)
* "Heartbreakers" (2001)
* "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001)
* "A Midsummer Night's Rave" (2002)
* "" (2003)
* "Wonderland" (2003)
* "Stateside" (2004)
* "The Aristocrats" (2005) (documentary)
* "Undiscovered" (2005)
* "Smallville" (2005) (TV Show)
* "Romancing the Bride" (2005) (TV Movie) Oxygen
* "Cougar Club" (2006)
* "Dreams on Spec" (2007) (documentary)
* "On the Lot" (2007) (TV Show)
* "Weeds" (2007) (TV Show) (episode "The Brick Dance")
* "30 Rock" (2007) (TV Show) (episode "Rosemary's Baby")
* "Suffering Man's Charity" (2007)
* "The Women" (2008)

;Upcoming:
* "Fanboys" (2008)

Television Work

*
*Sex and the City: Season 3, Episode 14: "Sex and Another City": as Herself
*Smallville: Season 5, Episode 5: "Thirst": as editor of the Daily Planet

Bibliography

Novels

* "Postcards from the Edge", 1987, ISBN 0743466519
* "Surrender the Pink", 1991, ISBN 0671666401
* "Delusions of Grandma", 1993, ISBN 0684858037
* "Hollywood Moms", 2001, (introduction)
* "The Best Awful There Is", 2004, ISBN 0743478576

creenplays

* "Postcards from the Edge", 1990
* "These Old Broads", 2001
* "E-Girl" (2007)

Play

* "Wishful Drinking", 2006
* "Wishful Drinking [http://www.sjrep.com/plays/2008/reduced/WishfulDrinking.php] ", 2008
* "A Spy in the House of Me", 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.carriefisher.com/ Personal Website at CarrieFisher.com]
*
* [http://movies.go.com/carrie-fisher/f1005152 Movies.com entry for Carrie Fisher]
*
*
* [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318238,00.html Working the Edge] , a 1990 "Entertainment Weekly" cover story profiling Fisher

Persondata
NAME= Fisher, Carrie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Fisher, Carrie Frances
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress, Screenwriter, Novelist
DATE OF BIRTH= 21 October, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH= Beverly Hills, California
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=