The news of Carrie Fisher’s death sent shockwaves around the world, with overwhelming tributes from those who had worked with her over the years, Hollywood stars and her fan base - praising the humility, warmth and wit of the 60-year-old actress.
Yes, she played one of the most recognise female characters in film history, but it was her openness to speak up about issues from mental health, alcoholism and body image that resonated with so many. The real Princess, the real Carrie. And more than anything, while Fisher had her fair share of drama in her life, she always could always find the funny side.
In her brilliant 2009 autobiography Wishful Drinking – which we suggest you order immediately – she requested her obituary read "that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra."
It was this wicked sense of humour that will stay with her daughter, Billie Lourd. Alongside a snap of young Billie and Carrie in the backseat of a car on Instagram, the Scream Queens actress captioned the shot with the sweetest sentiment:
“If my life weren’t funny then it would just be true and that is unacceptable. Finding the funny might take a while but I learned from the best and her voice will forever be in my head and in my heart.”
Carrie Fisher once said, so eloquently: “My daughter, she tells me when she grows up she want to be a singer or a comic. I said ‘well, baby, if you wanna be a comic, you gotta be a writer. But don’t worry, you’ve got tons on material: Your mother is a manic depressive, drug addict. Your father’s gay. Your grandmother tap dances and your grandfather eats hearing aids.’ And my daughter laughs and laughs and laughs and I said ‘Baby, the fact that you know that’s funny is gonna save your whole life.”
READ MORE: Carrie Fisher: Remembering A Fearless, Feminist Princess