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Legendary 'Star Wars' actress Carrie Fisher dead at 60

By Kelcie Willis, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Kelcie Willis, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

LOS ANGELES — Actress and author Carrie Fisher has died days after suffering a massive heart attack while on a plane, a family spokesperson told ABC News.

"It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 855 this morning," Simon Halls said in a statement to ABC News. "She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly."

Fisher, who is best known for her role as Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" franchise, was on a United Arilines flight from London to Los Angeles Friday when she went into cardiac arrest.

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Fisher had been in the intensive care unit of a Los Angeles hospital since the incident.

A Twitter account for Fisher's dog, who was reportedly on the plane with her, tweeted the news on Tuesday.

Fisher, 60, tweeted on Dec. 19 that she had been filming the series "Catastrophe" in Europe. Her bio on the social media page indicates that she splits her time between London and Los Angeles.

Fisher, who was born in 1956, came from Hollywood royalty as the only daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher.

Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter. I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop. Love Carries Mother

Posted by Debbie Reynolds on Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Following in her famous parents' footsteps, she made her Broadway debut at the age of 15 alongside her mother in "Irene." Her movie debut came in the 1975 Warren Beatty film "Shampoo," but in 1977, "Star Wars" made her a household name.

In the '80s, Fisher battled addictions to alcohol and drugs, which she wrote about in her first book, 1987's  "Postcards from the Edge." The successful, semi-autobiographical novel is about an actress addicted to drugs. It was made into a movie in 1990 for which Fisher wrote the screenplay. Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine starred in the film.

Fisher has also had success as a script consultant for multiple movies, revising scripts for "Sister Act" and "The Wedding Singer."  She also worked on the movies "Hook," "Lethal Weapon 3" and "Outbreak."

In 2008, Fisher released "Wishful Drinking," an autobiographical book in which she wrote more about her struggles with addiction and mental illness. It was turned into a one-woman stage play starring Fisher and aired on HBO.

In a 2015 interview with Diane Sawyer, Fisher publicly revealed her struggles with manic depression, a chemical disorder also known as bipolar disorder.

"I used to think I was a drug addict, pure and simple -- just someone who could not stop taking drugs willfully," she said. "And I was that. But it turns out that I am severely manic depressive.

Fisher returned to the "Star Wars" franchise in 2015's Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. She just finished shooting Star Wars: Episode VIII.

Fisher was married to Paul Simon from 1983 to 1984 but had no children. She and talent agent Bryan Lourd welcomed daughter, actress Billie Lourd, in 1992.

Fisher is survived by her daughter, mother, brother Todd Fisher, and half-sisters Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher.

Soon after news of her death spread, celebrities began sending their condolences to her family.

ABC News contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group

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