Talented actor. Brilliant writer. Passionate mental health activist. Honest and resilient woman. All around icon. Carrie Fisher is gone. She was really a bad ass on screen and off. As Leia in the Star Wars franchise, she showed so many of us across the globe what heroism really was. Her character lost pretty much everything when her planet was destroyed, but that only strengthened Leia's resolve. She was not fazed by the likes of Darth Vader or Jabba the Hutt and always willing to blast her way out of trouble. For my generation, she was one of the very few heroic women we saw in a blockbuster film. It will be difficult to measure Carrie Fisher's impact. So, it might take awhile for us to bounce back from her loss, especially since she had just come back as now General Leia in The Force Awakens. In her honor, here are just a few clips of other women in film who took a back seat to no one.
Pam Grier-Foxy Brown
Sigourney Weaver-Ripley
Geena Davis-Charlie Baltimore
Gal Gadot-Wonder Woman
Michelle Rodriguez-Letty
Charlize Theron-Furiosa
Michelle Yeoh-Yu Shu Lien
Anne Hathaway-Selina Kyle
Paula Patton-Jane Carter
Linda Hamilton-Sarah Connor
Emma Watson-Hermione Granger
Wait, I have to include Leia on this list. Right?
We will miss you, Carrie. Your heroism on screen, your candor and humor off screen.
Update: Carrie's mother, the incomparable Debbie Reynolds, passed away a day after her daughter. She was 84. Here's one of her most memorable performances, as The Unsinkable Molly Brown.