Five years ago this month, we lost one of the greatest creatives to ever grace the silver screen. Actress, writer, and advocate , best known for her performance as the bold, intelligent, and morally-grounded Princess Leia Organa in the film franchise, was a hero to so many—an outspoken, brilliant, and, quite frankly, hilarious film icon who stood out from the Hollywood crowd.
As the tribute card following 2018’s attested, Carrie Fisher will always be “Our Princess.” The fearlessness, heart, humor, and spirit she brought to Princess Leia Organa in the Skywalker Saga inspired countless young women (myself included) to lead with tenacity and love and to rebel against oppressive structures. Fisher brought a warmth to Leia that became the backbone of the character: a royal-turned-general who had lost everything and yet never abandoned her hope for the future.
Though Leia Organa is a fictional character, there was much more still to admire about the artist who portrayed her. Like Organa, Fisher was an unapologetic, whip-smart iconoclast, revolutionary in her defiance of society's rigid rules and demands. But dig in a bit further into her staggering memoirs, interviews, and advocacy work, and you'll find a kind of tender fragility that transcends comparison. One of the reasons Fisher meant so much to me, and to many others, was her openness about her life with mental illness and her transparency about medication, treatment, and recovery. Fisher lived with bipolar disorder and addiction, and her candor served as a rejection of shame and stigma. Over the course of her life, she extended a lifeline to fans who dealt with similar struggles while campaigning for more accessible treatment and care options.
Years later, we still mourn the void left by Fisher's passing. But in moments of grief, it's also important to honor those passed by amplifying what mattered to them while they were still with us. Below, we've collected our top 30 favorite Carrie Fisher quotes from her literary work, taking care to highlight those words which made us laugh, think, smile, or just feel a little less alone.
Our favorite quotes from Carrie Fisher’s memoirs
1. “If my life wasn’t funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.” — Carrie Fisher,
2. "I am truly a product of Hollywood in-breeding. When two celebrities mate, something like me is the result." — Carrie Fisher,
3. “I heard someone say once that many of us only seem able to find heaven by backing away from hell. And while the place that I’ve arrived at in my life may not precisely be everyone’s idea of heavenly, I could swear sometimes—if I'm quiet enough—I hear angels sing.” — Carrie Fisher,
