Following Cardiac Episode, Beloved Carrie Fisher Dies

Though reports indicated she was on the mend, actress and writer Carrie Fisher died this week in Los Angeles following a cardiac episode on a flight from London.

Known for both her iconic Princess Leia role in the Star Wars franchise, as well as her wit and humor, Fisher was long a refeshing to antidote to Hollywood's antiseptic igenues. As the daughter of actors Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, she was groomed from stardom, but her path to icon status was anything but typical.

Fisher broke through as the resourceful heroine Princess Leia in the 1977 sci-fi phenomenon Star Wars, also appearing in its sequels, including last year's The Force Awakens. When she was taken to task for her appearance by social media posters, Fisher wryly responded with the following tweet: "Please stop debating about whether or not I aged well. Unfortunately it hurts all 3 of my feelings."

After 1983's Return of the Jedi, Fisher struggled to escape Leia, though she appeared in supporting roles in films like Hannah and Her Sisters and When Harry Met Sally. She channeled her career frustrations -- as well as her battles with substance abuse and mental illness, and her complicated relationship with her mother -- into the 1987 semi-autobiographical novel Postcards From the Edge. Director Mike Nichols turned the book into an equally-hilarious film, starring Meryl Streep as Fisher's character.

Fisher would continue to express herself through her writing, with Delusions of Grandma, Surrender the Pink, and Wishful Drinking. In her latest book, The Princess Diarist, Fisher expanded on diary entries from her Star Wars days. The writer was in London promoting the book just before she died in Los Angeles.

Fisher is survived by her mother, a daughter, Billie Catherine Lourd, and her French bull dog, Gary Fisher.

(RELATED: Fisher Priceless, our 2010 interview with Fisher)