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Actress Carrie Fisher, Beloved as Princess Leia in Star Wars, Has Died

Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher on the set of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.

Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that 2016 will continue to be the bearer of sad news until the very bitter end: Carrie Fisher, beloved as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise as well as many other notable roles, has died at 60. The news comes just days after Fisher suffered a heart attack while flying and was admitted into intensive care over the holiday weekend. Word of her condition spread quickly then, with many friends and fans sharing their love and support for the actress, who recently reprised her character in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII. Yesterday her mother, Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, tweeted that Fisher was in stable condition.

And now we can undoubtedly expect many more tributes to follow in the days to come. A statement was released earlier today by Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd via the family spokesman:

It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.

Update, Dec. 27, 2016: As the New Republic points out, in her 2008 autobiography Wishful Drinking, Fisher relayed a story from Star Wars in which George Lucas gave her the reason for why she couldn’t wear underwear under her Princess Leia dress. “I think that this would make for a fantastic obit,” she wrote. “So I tell my younger friends that no matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.”

Read more in Slate about Carrie Fisher.