Carrie Fisher, the actress who gave us the iconic character of Princess Leia, has died. Her passing was announced by Simon Halls, a spokesperson for the family, who issued a statement on behalf of Fisher’s daughter, actress Billie Lourd. “It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,” the statement said.

“She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly,” Lourd said. “Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”

Fisher had a massive heart attack on Friday, December 23, 2016 on a flight from London to LAX. She had been rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, had stated that Fisher was in stable condition on Monday, December 26. Fisher died on Tuesday, December 27. She was 60 years old.

Just one day later, while planning her daughter’s funeral, Reynolds suffered a stroke and died as well.

Fisher was born October 21, 1956 in Los Angeles to a set of famous parents – Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher. She became beloved by geek culture as Princess Leia Organa in the original Star Wars trilogy in 1977, 1980, and 1983. Then she reprised the role as General Leia for The Force Awakens in 2015.

Leia was the first member in the small sisterhood of women in Star Wars. With “Princess” preceding her name, she could have easily been a damsel to be saved by Luke and Han, but through the talented writers and Fisher’s gumption, the character became an icon. Fisher’s portrayal was assertive, intelligent, brave, and passionate. Some people complain that Leia was objectified, particularly in the Return of the Jedi’s famous gold bikini, but don’t forget, Leia killed the powerful, diabolical Jaba the Hutt during one of those scenes. She gave girls, especially science fiction and fantasy fans, someone to look up to and admire.

After her passing, sources came forward to say that Fisher had already finished filming her scenes for Episode VIII, the next installment in the Star Wars space opera.

In addition to acting, Fisher was also an accomplished writer. She became interested in books and writing poetry at a young age.

Following in her mother’s footsteps, she made her first appearance in Irene, a Broadway show starring Reynolds, when she was 15 years old. Her film debut came in 1975 in Shampoo with Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, and Goldie Hawn. Five years later, after her star-making turn as Princess Leia, she starred in The Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Then she returned to Broadway in Censored Scenes from King Kong and Agnes of God in ’80 and ’82, respectively.

In the early to mid-1980s Fisher struggled with depression, drugs, and alcohol. But in the latter half of the decade she stabilized both professionally and personally. She wrote her first novel, Postcards from the Edge in 1987, a semi-autobiographical story about a mother and daughter in show biz. Fisher adapted it as a screenplay for the 1990 movie starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine.

From the late ’80s through the ’90s she had several successful supporting roles and cameos in Hannah and Her Sisters, The ‘Burbs, Loverboy, When Harry Met Sally…, Drop Dead Fred, Soap Dish, and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

In the 2000s she was in Scream 3, Heartbreakers, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, The Women, Sorority Row, and Maps to the Stars.

In 2009, she had a very funny cameo in Fanboys, a movie about a group of friends trying to see The Phantom Menace before it’s theatrical debut.

Her guest starring TV appearances included Frasier, Sex and the City, Smallville, Weeds, 30 Rock, Entrourage, The Big Bang Theory, and voice acting in Robot Chicken and Family Guy.

She had her own interview show, Conversations From the Edge with Carrie Fisher, with Oxygen Media in 2002-2003.

Throughout this time, Fisher was also a successful script doctor. The term applies to a person who works on a script to do everything from polishing characters and strengthening story elements to punching up jokes and improving dialogue. In essence, after a script is written, script doctors join the project to make it the best it can be. Fisher was one of the most highly sought script doctors in Hollywood during the ’90s. She worked on Hook, Sister Act, Last Action Hero, Outbreak, and The Wedding Singer.

In addition to working on scripts, she wrote fiction and memoirs, drawing on her own life experiences. Her bestselling books include The Best Awful There Is, Wishful Drinking, and Shockaholic. The most recent was The Princess Diarist, which was published about a month ago in mid-November.

She was never shy about her past, openly discussing her bipolar disorder diagnosis and struggles with drug addiction. In 2016, Harvard gave her the Annual Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism for activism regarding mental illnesses and addiction. During her acceptance speech, Fisher said, “I’ve never been ashamed of my mental illness; it never occurred to me. Many people thank me for talking about it, and mothers can tell their kids when they are upset with the diagnosis that Princess Leia is bipolar too.”

Fisher is survived by her daughter, actress Billie Lourd, and brother, Todd Fisher.

She will also be missed by millions of fans around the world.

May the Force be with you.