Word for Word

18 Oct 2010

CARRIE FISHER – Superstar of stage & screen

Arts, Health, News & Politics, Society & Culture

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Her books are international bestsellers. Her movies have earned billions. And her super-stardom is from a galaxy far, far away. From the big screen to the Broadway stage, Carrie Fisherâ€™s multi award winning career as a writer and a performer is unequalled.

Growing up as the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds presented its own challenges. At 19, Carrieâ€™s life changed forever becoming a cultural icon when she played Princes Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Carrie Fishers film credits include Shampoo, The Blues Brothers, The â€˜Burbs, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Garbo Talks, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Man with One Red Show, and When Harry Met Sally.

In 1987, her book Postcards from the Edge, leapt onto the New York Timesâ€™ bestseller list, and was awarded the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel. Four more bestsellers have followed: Delusions of Grandma, Surrender the Pink, The Best Awful, and Wishful Drinking. Fisher turned Postcards into a screenplay for the hit film starring Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep,

Her experiences with addiction and bipolar disorder â€“ and her willingness to speak honestly and candidly about them â€“ have made her a sought after speaker and respected advocate for these communities. Her courage and commitment to fighting mental illness, and the stigmas that are associated with it continue to be acknowledged world wide.

Last year Carrie Fisher received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Spoken Word Album category for her one woman show Wishful Drinking. Described as a caustic memoir of her wild first half-centuryâ€”a blunt testament of mid-life self-discovery, and a frank account of coming to terms with bi-polar disorder and addiction. Carrie Fisher joins Dean and Sue prior to the Melbourne premiere of her one woman show, Wishful Drinking.