CARRIE FISHER - FAMOUS BIPOLAR ACTRESS
Born on 21st October 1956, Carrie Frances Fisher is an American novelist and actress.. She attained fame for her illustration of Princess Leia in her book The Original Star Wars Trilogy. Her other popular works include her autobiography Wishful Drinking and Postcards from the Edge. She also edited scripts for other writers in Hollywood aside from her writing and acting. She appeared in many hit movies as a singer or an actress. Her books and other writings also sold well.
She began her acting career very early, following her mother, an actress on her roadshows. At age 12, she appeared with her mother in Nevada. She also appeared as a singer and débutante in Irene, in which her mother starred in. She enrolled in London’s Central School for Speech and Drama for 18 months. Her starring in Star Wars earned her instant fame. Plastic images of Princess Leia were available in many toy shops across United States. She started starring in some television movie series. She also made appearances in a music video “You’re Sixteen”.
Fisher performed a one-actor play on her autobiography, Wishful Drinking. It was so successful that she toured San Jose, Washington DC, Boston and California with the play. This was later aired on television. The play earned her a Grammy Award nomination for 2010. Fisher was also a judge on a filmmaking reality show on FOX television. She wrote the opening introduction for Hollywood Moms, a book of photographs.
Fisher publicly acknowledged her struggles with bipolar disorder. She suffered a psychotic break during a deep depression. Getting out of bed was a problem for her at that time. Unfortunately, she did not have proper medication and so ended up in hospital. She spoke to CNN saying she was a serial killer and later the police. She did not want anyone around her and became violent towards anyone who came to visit. She spent six days and nights without any sleep at all and hallucinates about a light coming out of her head.
She asked her mother not to come see her again because she could not bear to see her. She somersaults in her hospital bed and asked to be taken out of the hospital. She was moved from the hospital to a nursery. Fisher became addicted to drugs, a common escape for people with bipolar disorder. She took anything that could make her feel better; Marijuana, acid, cocaine and even pharmaceuticals. She admitted that the drugs made her feel normal. At age 28, she was in a rehabilitation center after a drug overdose.
As a young child, Fisher witnessed her parents’ divorce and how her father was never there for them. Her resemblance with her father was unbearable and might have been the cause of her depression. She was also reported to have gotten stoned sometimes as a child. The death of Gregory Stevens at her home gave her another bout of depression and consequent drug use.
Fisher’s first Marriage was with Paul Simon. She dated other men thereafter. The longest of those relationships was with Bryan Lourd, with whom she had a daughter. The Fisher referred to him as her second husband.