In December 2016, Carrie Fisher passed away at the age of 60, living behind a lasting legacy as an actress, script doctor, author, advocate for mental health, and all-around great human being. Throughout her legendary career, which included some of the biggest movies of all time with the Star Wars franchise, one of the best romantic comedies of all time, and dozens upon dozens of other great appearances and cameos, Fisher was continually one of the brightest, funniest, and most down-to-earth stars on the planet.
That being said, it should come as no surprise that she also had some great stories from her life both on and off the screen, some that are just too good to not share. Here are 25 fun facts about Carrie Fisher and the late actress’ legendary career.
Carrie Fisher Was A Prolific Hollywood Script Doctor
Though she didn’t receive a screenwriting credit on all the movies she worked on throughout her career, Carrie Fisher was, at one point, one of the most prolific script doctors in the industry. Shortly after her death, Slash Film published a profile on the late actress, in which it was pointed out that she worked on everything from The Wedding Singer to Hook and Sister Act to Last Action Hero during her time as a script doctor, helping punch up the dialogue in countless films. In a 2008 interview with Newsweek, Fisher said her time working on scripts was a “very lucrative episode” in her life.
She Even Rewrote Some Of Her Dialogue In The Star Wars Movies
George Lucas wrote the scripts for the original trilogy of Star Wars, but the actors, most notably Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, reworked certain scenes, because, as Fisher explained in a Phoenix New Times interview, “you can type this shit but you can’t say it.” In the 2008 chat, the late actress revealed that by the time Return of the Jedi came out, she was “rewriting a little bit” of her dialogue. And, she was even asked to help punch up the first of the prequel trilogy years later.
Fisher And Mark Hamill Once Convinced A Theater Manager To Let Them Watch The First Star Wars Trailer
Ahead of the release of Star Wars: A New Hope, back in 1977, there weren’t a lot of ways to check out the trailer unless you saw it in a theater, even if you were the star of the movie. As Mark Hamill revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2017 (via Variety), he and Carrie Fisher went to a Westwood theater and convinced the manager to let them in to watch the trailer.
She Once Joked That Killing Jabba The Hutt Was The Best Time She Had As An Actor
When speaking at the Hay Festival in 2014 (via The Guardian), Fisher joked that the best part of her experience with Star Wars, and as an actor in general, was the scene in which she got to strangle the worm-like Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi. The actress also revealed that she was asked if she’d prefer a stunt double to do the deed, but she said “No” because she really wanted to do it.
The Star Wars Actress Was Known To Throw Epic Hollywood Parties
In addition to being a legendary actress and script doctor, Fisher was also known for throwing incredible, exclusive Hollywood parties, which have since become the stuff of legend. In 2019, Sheila Weller highlighted these fabulous parties in Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge (via EW). The most exclusive of these parties were her annual Halloween celebrations with Penny Marshall, which were about “85 percent incredibly famous people,” as one party goer was quoted in the book.
She Once Sent A Cow’s Tongue To A Hollywood Producer
She was also a deeply devoted friend. When speaking with 94/9 Morning Mix (via Washington Post) in 2017, screenwriter and producer Heather Ross revealed that after an unnamed Hollywood producer tried to put the moves on her, she told Fisher, who delivered the man a box containing a cow’s tongue and a note that basically said something of his would be in a smaller box next time if this happened again.
Fisher Worried Star Wars Would Ruin Her Career
More than 40 years after its initial release, Star Wars: A New Hope is why most people remember Fisher, but she once worried that the sci-fi epic would ruin her career, not propel it. When speaking with Yahoo! Entertainment in 2018, Todd Fisher revealed that his older sister was anxious about the movie and the effect it would have on her career, so much so that she nearly missed the premiere because she was so nervous and didn’t want to go in.
During Her First Star Wars Press Tour, Fisher And Her Co-Stars Would Go From Interviews To Amusement Parks
Fisher, Ford, and Mark Hamill were all quite young when they were thrust into superstardom upon the release of A New Hope, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the trio would goof off on their press tour. In an essay for Newsweek, Fisher revealed that they would go “straight from doing press to whatever amusement park was available.”
Elizabeth Taylor Once Pushed Her Into A Pool
Fisher had quite the history with Elizabeth Taylor, considering the Cleopatra star was her one-time stepmother. In the late 1990s, Fisher was invited to one of Taylor’s parties where the late icon told her she was going to push her into the pool. And she did, as Fisher remembered in a Daily Mail article, saying it's the event that allowed her to form a friendship with her former stepmother.
Carrie Fisher And Tom Hanks Improvised A Lot Of Their Scenes In The Burbs
In addition to featuring one of Tom Hanks’ best on-screen meltdowns, Joe Dante’s The Burbs also includes a great deal of improvisation by the two-time Academy Award winner and Fisher. When speaking about the movie following the actress’ death, Dante revealed to LA Weekly that a lot of their scenes together were full of improv, including the classic kitchen sequence.
She Once Helped Meryl Streep Kill Insects To Protect Some Raspberries
When presenting the 32nd AFI Life Achievement Award to Meryl Streep in 2004, Fisher revealed that she spent a few days at the Oscar winner’s house the previous year, after she asked the Star Wars actress to help her in the garden. Fisher would quickly learn something while protecting the raspberry bushes: “Don’t mess with Meryl.”
The Actress Agreed To Be In Jay & Bob Strike Back For A Pair Of Antique Beaver Chairs
In May 2020, Kevin Smith revealed on Twitter that when asked to perform a small cameo in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Fisher agreed to play a nun for no money, but a pair of antique beaver chairs. When Smith asked about the strange request, Fisher responded by saying she thought “beaver was ironic currency to be in your movie.”
She Based Postcards From The Edge On Her Real-Life Relationship With Mother Debbie Reynolds
In 1990, Streep and Shirley MacLaine starred in Postcards from the Edge, a film adaptation of Fisher’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. In Roger Ebert’s review, the late critic pointed out that the movie, like the book, was inspired by Fisher’s real-life relationship with mother Debbie Reynolds.
Carrie Fisher Originally Thought Her Return Of The Jedi Bikini Was A Joke
For better or worse, Princess Leia’s bikini from Return of the Jedi has become one of the most iconic costumes from the franchise, but Fisher originally thought it was some kind of joke. When speaking with NPR’s Fresh Air, the actress revealed that when she first saw the concept art, she thought everyone was kidding.
She Had A 'Tumultuous’ Yet ‘Special’ Relationship With Mark Hamill
Fisher and Mark Hamill played brother and sister in Star Wars, and their relationship off-screen very much felt that way in real life. When speaking with Esquire following Fisher’s death, Hamill revealed that the pair shared a “tumultuous relationship” where they’d get in a fight and not speak to one another for six months, yet they had a “special” connection.
Simon Pegg Said Meeting Carrie Fisher Was ‘The Best Day’ Of His Life
During a 2020 Vanity Fair interview, Simon Pegg revealed that he got to spend a day with Carrie Fisher on the set of The Force Awakens, which he called the “best day” of his life. While walking around, Pegg told Fisher that he had always loved her, to which she responded by looking at his wedding ring and saying “Fuck you.”
Fisher’s Childhood Nickname Was ‘The Bookworm’
Fisher was an accomplished writer (of books and screenplays), so it’s no surprise that she loved to read. During a chat with The Los Angeles Times, the actress revealed that her childhood nickname was “the bookworm” because of her obsessive reading habits.
John Belushi Set Carrie Fisher Up With Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd and Fisher were together for a stretch of time during the late ‘70s and early '80s, and they had their future Blues Brothers co-star John Belushi to thank. When speaking with the AV Club, Fisher revealed that one night, she got a call from Belushi, who invited her over for a party. When she arrived, Belushi was passed out and she was left alone with Aykroyd. She would refer to this as the “Belushi blind date.”
Aykroyd Asked Fisher To Marry Him Minutes After He Saved Her Life
Aykroyd and Fisher would end up getting engaged while shooting The Blues Brothers, and the proposal was about as eventful as you'd imagine. When speaking with the Chicago Tribune, Fisher revealed that she was at dinner with the Ghostbusters star when she started to choke on a Brussels sprout. Aykroyd jumped up, performed the Heimlich maneuver, and later popped the question. How could she say no?
Fisher Is Still Considered A Mental Health Hero
Fisher never shied away from talking about her struggles with mental health and addiction, and is still considered a hero for many people around the world nearly seven years after her death. In 2018, HuffPost posted a sprawling essay about the late actress and the efforts she made to end the stigma associated with mental health throughout her life.
Carrie Fisher And Mark Hamill Had An Inside Joke About Their Star Wars Characters
Hamill, always one to have fun with random aspects of Star Wars, revealed on his Twitter in 2019 that he and Fisher had an inside joke where he would ask if Luke Skywalker was royalty since his sister, Leia, was a princess, and his mother was once the queen of Naboo.
She Once Served As A Mediator Between Whoopi Goldberg And Former Disney Studios Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg
Another wild aspect of Fisher’s career was that she once served as a mediator between Whoopi Goldberg and former Disney Studios Chairman Jeffery Katzenberg during the development of Sister Act. In a great 1992 EW article about the spat, it was revealed that Fisher told Goldberg to send the studio executive a hatchet along with a note saying “Please bury this on both our behalfs.”
Carrie Fisher Was The Godmother Of James Blunt’s Son
Remember James Blunt, the singer-songwriter who became a massive sensation in the early 2000s with his hit song, “You’re Beautiful,” among other hits? Well, Fisher was his son's godmother. When speaking with The Sunday Times (via RadioTimes), the Grammy nominee revealed that Fisher invited him to live at her home when he was writing “Back to Bedlam,” which he named after the experience.
She Brought Her Dog, Gary Fisher, Everywhere She Went
Those who have long followed the Gary Fisher Instagram account are fully aware that the late actress’ cherished french bulldog went with her everywhere, whether that was TV appearances, red carpets, or various functions.
She Won A Posthumous Grammy In 2018 For Her Memoir Audiobook ‘The Princess Diarist’
A little more than a year after her passing, Fisher received a posthumous Grammy for her memoir audiobook, The Princess Diarist, a life and career-spanning autobiography that revealed a great number of details about her biggest and most unforgettable moments. According to Billboard, the award was in the Best Spoken Word category.
As you can probably tell by now, Carrie Fisher lived quite the memorable life, both on and off screen. Even though she is no longer with us, we still have her movies, books, and legacy to remind us of her incredible spirit.
