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Carrie Fisher

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 first 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.