Remembering Carrie Fisher: Memorable Lessons Her And Debbie Reynolds Taught The World
Image Source: Bustle
On October 21, Star Wars fans everywhere have Carrie Fisher on their minds in celebration of her birthday. We lost our brilliant space princess, and her equally sensational mother, Debbie Reynolds, in December 2016. They left behind legacies that allow the rest of us to learn and laugh from their mistakes and triumphs and even how to become better humans along the way.
The iconic pair taught us many things, but mainly to be yourself -- you’re better at it than anyone else ever will be. Celebrate their lives and recall the lessons we’ve learned from this mother-daughter pair.
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3. Humor
Image Source: Playbill
In 2015, Carrie presented her mother with the SAG Life Achievement Award and lightheartedly commented on their relationship, “She has been more of a mother to me… She’s been an unsolicited stylist, interior decorator, and marriage counselor.” Debbie had mentioned in an interview two decades earlier, “I’m not one to advise about marriage. I should see a board of directors who should vote on who I should date.”
With Debbie’s love of singing and dancing, she was always surprised that Carrie didn’t perform live. Carrie explained it as her “big rebellion,” mentioning that Debbie had said, “Do drugs. Do whatever you need to do. But why don’t you sing?!”
2. Activism
Image Source: BBC
Carrie and Debbie were both activists for various causes, including addiction treatment, gender equality, and HIV/AIDS. Debbie was one of the first celebrities to publicly speak out about AIDS and perform at fundraisers, even as early as 1983 when there was still so much stigma surrounding the disease.
Carrie was very open about struggling with bipolar disorder. Debbie recalls it being challenging before getting a diagnosis; they knew something was seriously affecting Carrie, but didn’t know how to help her. She spoke up in their documentary, Bright Lights, about Carrie battling her own mind as a teen: “It takes all of us to assure her that she is loved and that…we’ll get her.”
In 2001, while advocating for increased funding for mental illness treatment, Carrie confided, “Medication has made me a good mother, a good friend, a good daughter.” She also helped the world to understand more about electroconvulsive therapy, recalling its positive effects on her own treatment. It warmed Carrie’s heart to find out that fans learned to see life beyond their diagnosis thanks to her own portrayal of Princess Leia while living with bipolar disorder. She knew firsthand how difficult bipolar disorder was to live with and has stated that “anyone who has this illness is heroic.”
1. Honesty
Image Source: YouTube
After the publication of Carrie’s autobiographical novel, Delusions of Grandma, she joked, “My fear is that I will be crushed in an elevator and my mother will get hold of my journals from my adolescence.”
Carrie’s daughter, Billie Lourd, once said that Debbie’s best advice was “to keep true to yourself and don’t lose yourself. Or your eyebrows.” Billie and Carrie starred in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker together before Carrie’s death.
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