December 29, 2016 • Volume 9, Issue 57 • Subscribe to Hope & Harmony Headlines
Farewell, Carrie Fisher
It is with shock and sorrow that we record the passing of actress Carrie Fisher this week—but also with gratitude for all she did as a champion for those affected by bipolar disorder.
Fisher died Tuesday, at age 60, after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles. She had been in Britain to film the third season of the Amazon series Catastrophe.
It was the latest role in an acting career going back four decades. She was only 19 when she first played feisty rebel princess Leia Organa in the Star Wars franchise.
When the original Star Wars movie came out in 1977, Fisher became an instant international megastar. But it was her openness about having bipolar—a topic she discussed with typical candor and acerbic wit—that made her a hero to many of us.
When bp Magazine debuted in 2004, Carrie Fisher was on our cover. “We needed a big name to launch, and on a wing and a prayer we reached out to Carrie Fisher,” recalls publisher Joanne Doan. “It says a lot that she agreed ’sight unseen’ to be featured in a publication dedicated to serving the bipolar community.”
As Doan told People.com for a celebratory article, Fisher “inspired our community to be able to look in the mirror—free of this ridiculous shame and stigma that surrounds a chronic brain illness—and go out there and live fulfilling lives.”
She was our “cover girl” again for our fifth anniversary issue and appeared in our 10th anniversary issue, which came out shortly before the release of Star War VII (The Force Awakens)—starring Fisher as a mature General Leia Organa. (According to media reports, she had completed filming for Star Wars VIII before her death.)
“It is with a heavy heart that I realize Ms. Fisher won’t be on another anniversary cover,” Doan says. “We at bp Magazine mourn our first ‘leading lady’ … her life and legacy will be celebrated with each and every issue.”
Back in 1985, Fisher was among the celebrity pioneers to go public with a bipolar diagnosis. In brutally honest interviews—and in her novels, memoirs and one-woman shows (notably Wishful Drinking)—she framed her bipolar, her addictions, and other difficult passages of her life with sardonic humor. (As she said, “it wasn’t all sweetness and light sabers.”)
Our columnist Beth Brownsberger Mader puts it well: “Carrie was a beacon of hope for those of us with bipolar, and gave us so many ways to find humor and light, hope and unique creativity in our journey to wellness.” She will be missed.
— Carrie’s Journey with bp Magazine --
Hollywood Kid Carrie Fisher and Her Best Awful (Premiere Issue)
Carrie Fisher opens up about the best awful times of her life–addiction, psychotic breaks, hospitalization and recovery. Read now >>
The Wit & Wisdom of Carrie Fisher
Hollywood daughter and Broadway star opens up about her struggles with bipolar disorder and her new-found strength. Read now >>
Our Leading Lady, Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher will return as Princess Leia in Star Wars VII, but she’s always been our heroine for rebelling against the stigma of bipolar. Read now >>
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