“I don’t want my life to imitate art, I want my life to be art.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I write this just moments after hearing the news that Carrie Fisher has passed away, aged 60. The inimitable, crushingly witty, fiercely talented woman whose portrayal of Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars left an impression that will last a life-time. To most, she was an icon. To myself, and Star Wars fans worldwide, she was much, much more. A true heroine unlike any other, and an inspiration.

I was lucky enough to see Carrie on stage at Star Wars Celebration, and in person she was just as funny and charming as you’d hope and imagine. A true one-off. There’s a reason that Leia has become one of cinema’s most loved characters, and that reason is Carrie Fisher. She will be sorely missed.

“I’m not really one of those actresses like Meryl Streep. Those actresses travel outside themselves and play characters. And I’m more of an archaeologist. I play what I am. I dig what I can. It’s a character that’s not too far from myself, except I don’t have any laser guns.”