he Star Wars actress had a heart attack while aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles Friday, about 15 minutes before the plane was scheduled to land. Speaking on behalf of Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd, family’s spokesman Simon Halls announced she died Tuesday. “It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,” he told People in a statement. “She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”
After Fisher suffered a heart attack, paramedics were immediately called. They were on standby waiting at the gate by the time the plane landed. The L. A. City Fire Department told E! News they provided advanced life support and aggressive treatment before transporting the actress to the UCLA Medical Center.
Her brother Todd Fisher told E! News hours later Carrie was being treated in the ICU. Local TV station KABC reported that night she was in critical condition and on a ventilator.
Actress Anna Akana was on the same flight and tweeted about the tragic turn of events. She said the United flight crew as well as passengers onboard “jumped into action.” There were doctors and nurse passengers who administered CPR, doing all that they could to carry out life-saving measures.
United Airlines also released a statement, saying: “Medical personnel met United flight 935 from London to Los Angeles upon arrival today after the crew reported that a passenger was unresponsive. Our thoughts are with our customer at this time.”
Fisher was best known for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. In recent weeks, she’s also been busy promoting her new memoir, The Princess Diarist, in which she provides an “intimate, hilarious and revealing” recollection of what happened behind-the-scenes of the famous films.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her friends and family at this time.
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