When the first Star Wars movie was released in 1977, many young men found themselves crushing on Princess Leia Organa, played by the talented Carrie Fisher. If you are unaware of who Carrie Fisher is because you have never seen the Star Wars movies, she is the daughter of Eddie Fisher, a jazz musician that was popular in the 1950s, and Debbie Reynolds. The talented Carrie Fisher died in December of 2016 and her mother followed soon after.

Her importance

Carrie Fisher had been very open about her life, not only in her stand-up comedy, but all of her books are very telling of her childhood and her personal life.

This is something that not many celebrities are willing to do when it comes to their personal lives. On screen, her character has represented many things for the Star Wars franchise and has been a figure used for women empowerment over the world. If you are unfamiliar with the films, Princess Leia Organa starts out as someone who is leading the rebellion against the empire that has Darth Vader overseeing many of the operations. Though Leia is not a Jedi and does not wield a lightsaber like many of the people in these movies, she is what they call "force sensitive" and this is displayed throughout the five movies that she is in. By "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," the once princess had been awarded the title of General Leia Organa.

She is still leading the resistance, this time against Kylo Ren, who hopes to live up to Darth Vader's legacy.

Before Carrie's untimely death in 2016, she had been very open about her use of alcohol and drugs. She wrote three books that talk about her life as Princess Leia and the drugs and alcohol she was using. In her book "Wishful Drinking," she talks about how she was coping with depression and bipolar disorder and as a way of trying to lessen those effects, she underwent electroshock therapy.

From the book title alone, it can be inferred that she had a long history with alcohol and it was anything but easy.

Why should children look up to Princess Leia

It is important to show young girls positive role models while they are growing up and giving them strong women to model themselves after, so why should they look up to someone who struggled with addiction and probably died because of an overdose?

The reasoning behind this is quite simple, young girls and boys alike, should both be exposed to Princess Leia and see that women really can do anything and that they deserve the same respect as any man. In the Star Wars films, Princess Leia demands the same respect as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker and in many cases, she is given more respect than they are. Convincing parents to expose their child to a positive and powerful role model such as Princess Leia is easy, but what about the woman behind the character?

Carrie Fisher had gone on record multiple times to say that she doesn't know where Princess Leia ends and she begins, stating that the two of them are one. While it is understandable that many parents don't want to expose their children to a drug addict based on the fact that they aren't a generally someone people want their kids to look up to.

But the way that she dealt with these addictions and spoke out against people using drugs as a way to cope with their disorders and encouraged people to write to her for advice on what not to do. She uses her humor as a way to inform people in a way that is not too dark.

What she left behind

When Carrie Fisher passed away, she left behind her daughter Billie Lourd, her dog Gary, her brother Todd, her mother Debbie Reynolds, and millions of adoring fans. Her daughter was able to work on the 7th and 8th installment of the Star Wars films with her mother and spend time with her that she didn't think she would ever get. "The Last Jedi" brought forth many tears for fans of both Luke and Leia when they watched it for the first time.

It was no secret that Carrie loved her dog Gary, but what was also hard for fans to see, was just how much Gary loved her back. In interviews, often times Carrie would bring him out and have him sit with her while she gave interviews or talked on a talk show. He has his own Instagram account which is flooded with pictures of him and his mom which are enough to make anyone cry.

Her legacy

It is not a secret that she will be greatly missed by everyone she touched. She was a phenomenal comedian, writer, actress, and human being. Her iconic hair from the Star Wars movies will always belong to Princess Leia and her unmatched wit will continue to entertain people for years to come. Saying goodbye to a person such as herself is never an easy thing to do, but as they say in a galaxy far, far away, no one is ever really gone.
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