Feminist Quotes From Carrie Fisher

It is another tragic day in 2016 for the entertainment world and fans around the world: Legendary actor Carrie Fisher has died at the age of 60. On Dec. 23, Fisher suffered a heart attack, but was said to be in stable condition. Fisher's death was confirmed in a statement to People from a spokesperson for the family on behalf of her daughter, Bille 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. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly.

Fisher and her role in Hollywood inspired many women throughout the years, as she was a woman who fought sexism and ageism, all while being open about her struggles with mental health. To celebrate the wonderful impact Fisher had on women, here are some of Fisher's best feminist quotes to give some inspiration on this sad, dark day.

Fisher was only 19 years old when she first filmed the role of Princess Leia, which would earn her a spot as a Hollywood legend, indefinitely. After early struggles with addiction, Fisher emerged as a feminist figure for her tenacity, outspokenness, and incredible talent.

"I think it’s stupid. 'What am I going to tell my kid about why she’s in that outfit?' Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage."

Fisher had a lot of thoughts about the infamous outfit Leia wore while captured by Jabba The Hutt. In December of 2015, Disney banned the selling of Leia merchandise in the slave bikini and Fisher told the Wall Street Journal that she didn't approve of it because she'd rather have parents tell their daughters that Leia wore this against her will, but that eventually she won.

"I had so much fun killing [Jabba]. They asked me if I wanted my stunt double to kill him, but I wanted to. I sawed his neck off with that chain. I really wanted to kill him."

Fisher told The Daily Beast that one her most memorable parts of filming Star Wars was killing Jabba, the monster that held Leia captive.

“Living with manic depression takes a tremendous amount of balls... it's something to be proud of, not ashamed of.”

Fisher often opened up about her fight with bipolar disorder and showed her strength in a quote in her book, Wishful Drinking, released in 2008.

"Those movies are great. I got to be the only girl in an all boy fantasy, and it's a great role for women. She's a very proactive character and gets the job done. So if you're going to get typecast as something, that might as well be it for me."

When asked by CBC News how she felt about always being tied to Star Wars, she had nothing but pride for her work as Leia.

"Make the women smarter and the love scenes better."

Fisher had this brilliant answer when asked by Web MD on how to heal terrible dialogue in a script.

"I’d like to in theory, but it’s very hard for women in show business...The most important things in my life now are my mother, my daughter, my friends and my dog, Gary. He travels everywhere with me! I love that saying: make me become the person my animal thinks I am. If I am who Gary thinks I am, I’m fantastic!’"

In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Fisher confessed that getting married again is not so high on her list of accomplishments.

"I’ll never be known for my work with boundaries...Unadulterated me would be impossible."

Fisher told the New York Times in 2010 of how she lives as an honest woman in show business and how it saved her. She always lived unabashedly.

Fisher's beautiful and honest words about life will live on even further than any role she's played and will continue to inspire women across all realms.