2016 will be remembered for, among other things, the list of beloved figures who passed away. Today we received the sad news of Carrie Fisher’s passing, and as the Huffington Post reminds us, she was more than a screen icon– she was an important mental health advocate. Carrie Fisher publicly shared a great deal about her own mental health issues and strove to remove the stigmas associated with mental illness. Here’s an excerpt from the HuffPo article about her mental health heroism, and we hope the force will be with her always.
Carrie Fisher was a total badass.
The actress, who died Tuesday at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack, spoke out on mental illness many times ― something almost unheard of in Hollywood at the time she began sharing publicly.
She gave honest testimonies of the trials and triumphs of battling addiction and bipolar disorder, displaying a no-holds-barred attitude when it comes to discussing the realities of mental health conditions.
As we mourn her death, we also want to salute the original Princess Leia for her groundbreaking stance on mental health in the public eye. Below are few times Fisher stood up against stigma: