A year ago, Carrie Fisher passed away. She was a feminist icon in her youth, playing the role of Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, and a mental health hero in her old age, transparent about her struggle with bipolar disorder. Carrie Fisher was cherished by fans, family, and castmates alike. She was a role model for girls in real life, as much as she was in fiction. Here are seven iconic moments we can remember her by.
1. "Drowned In Moonlight, Strangled By Own Bra."
Being a Star Wars fan doesn't mean you're a George Lucas fan. Despite being the creator of a lucrative franchise, he's by no means a genius. In this HBO documentary, Carrie Fisher exposes George Lucas for a bizarre request. She reveals that George Lucas wouldn't let her wear a bra in The New Hope. He insisted to her (she was nineteen at the time), "There's no underwear in space." Because of this interaction, Carrie Fisher said she wanted her obituary to say, "Drowned in Moonlight, Strangled by her own bra." Carrie Fisher's entire special is worth watching in remembrance of her.
2. Choking Jabba with chains that bound her.
Carrie Fisher had to deal with a lot on the set of Star Wars as a young woman. One of these things was not wearing a bra in The New Hope, and the other was being forced into an uncomfortable metal bikini in Return of The Jedi. The slave imagery is demeaning, and George Lucas' decision was controversial. However, Princess Leia killing Jabba The Hutt with the chains that bound her is a significant image, whether intentional or not. Carrie Fisher said to her younger castmate Daisy Ridley on the set of The Force Awakens, "Don't let them put you in a bikini."
3. Aging gracefully and returning to Star Wars as General Organa.
Princess Leia was the subject of many young fans' fantasies. General Organa, however, did not conform to those same standards. Unlike her aging male co-stars, Carrie Fisher got a lot of flack for how she had aged since Return Of The Jedi. However, she was resilient towards the hate. She returned to the franchise just as beautiful as she was, and not as Senator or a Princess, but as a General.
4. Her Entire Twitter
5. Telling the whole world about her relationship with Harrison Ford.
Shortly before her death, she revealed the details of her relationship with Harrison Ford. It was brave to do after all the years that had gone by, and it was something tragic, honest, and personal. She addressed it in 2016 Memoir, "The Princess Diarist," and the press ate it up. Why not tell the world you boinked one of the ruggedly handsome men in film? Castmate Mark Hamill said he was too "self-obsessed to notice."
6. She was a writer.
Most people know Carrie Fisher as an actor, but she also a writer. It's been revealed she poured over The Last Jedi script several times. She wrote her own books, her documentary, and has writing credits in The Indiana Jones Franchise.
7. Her openness about mental illness.
Carrie Fisher became a face for Bipolar Disorder. Putting familiar faces to mental illness normalizes it. Openness about mental illness starts a dialogue with the public.
