Billie Lourd Gets Emotional as She Honors Late Mom Carrie Fisher at The Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental health issues that some readers may find distressing.
Actress Billie Lourd became emotional as she honored her late mother, Carrie Fisher, during her Walk of Fame ceremony posthumously. Fisher received the 2,754th star on the famous Walk of Fame, located a few feet from her Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill's star. Lourd talked about how, at first, she wasn't interested in watching Star Wars, but after seeing the reaction from fans, she realized that Fisher's character, Princess Leia, was much more than just a role in a movie. Lourd also talked about Fisher's inspiring life beyond her time in Star Wars, including her transparency about her struggles with drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness. Fisher passed away on December 27, 2016, followed a day later by her mother, Debbie Reynolds.
As mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter, Lourd shared how it wasn't until she was in middle school that she finally watched Star Wars. She remembered her mother's persistence in trying to get her to watch the movie, but she didn't give in until some boys her age said how much they fancied Fisher. Lourd then went home to watch the movie to find out who this woman was. "I wanted to hate it so I could tell her how lame she was. Like any kid, I didn’t want my mom to be hot or cool. She was my mom. But that day, staring at the screen, I realized no one is or will ever be as hot or as cool as Princess Leia,” she recalled.
Lourd accompanied her mother to Comic-Con, where she saw the joy Fisher brought to her fans as they lined up for hours just to meet her. “People of all ages from all over the world were dressed up like my mom, the lady who sang me to sleep at night and held me when I was scared. Watching the amount of joy it brought to people when she hugged them or threw glitter at them — sorry about that — was incredible to witness. People waited in line for hours just to meet her,” said Lourd. Fisher was known for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, but she also wrote several books, took a one-woman show to Broadway, and appeared in many films and TV shows such as Shampoo, When Harry Met Sally, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Blues Brothers, Sex and the City, and 30 Rock.
Lourd talked about how her love of Star Wars had deepened since her mother's death, and she now considers herself an obsessive fan. She has passed the fandom down to her two children, Kingston and Jackson. Lourd also mentioned how proud she was of her mother for inspiring people worldwide to speak more openly about their struggles with addiction and mental illness. She mentioned Fisher's quote, "Take your broken heart and make it into art," and said she hopes to pass on this wisdom to the next generation of fans.
Hamill kicked off the ceremony, taking over the stage and sharing stories of Fisher. He talked about how Fisher loved the entertainment industry and how it brought people together, and how she was never afraid to speak her mind. He said that when he and Fisher were cast for Star Wars, she immediately became his family, and they were inseparable ever since. Fisher's star is a few feet away from Hamill's star, and across the street from Reynolds' star. The Walk of Fame ceremony ended with a touching tribute to Fisher and her legacy. Lourd got emotional as she said, "Mama, you've made it."