It hasn’t been a great year for celebrities, but for those of us a certain age who remember our first high-budget science-fiction western, the death of Carrie Fisher mixes deep nostalgia with powerful loss:
Family spokesman Simon Halls released a statement to PEOPLE on behalf of Fisher’s daughter, Billie 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,” reads the statement. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly,” says Lourd, 24. “Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.”
No one is saying for sure, but the flow of tragic events is consistent with the 60-year-old actress turned writer suffering irreparable neurological damage in the immediate aftermath of a sudden cardiac arrest while on a flight to London several days ago. This year can kiss my ass.