Almost 46 years after Carrie Fisher became a household name, she has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May the Fourth, the unofficial holiday for everything “Star Wars.”
Fisher’s star, which is the 2,754th star on the Walk of Fame, was unveiled near the Walt Disney Company-owned El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Disney also owns the “Star Wars” franchise, the movies that made Fisher an icon on the big screen.
“I am happy to add, that her star is just a few feet away from the star of Mark Hamill and across the street from the star of her legendary mother Debbie Reynolds!” Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame said in a statement when the star was announced last month.
Hamill was part of Thursday’s ceremony honoring his co-star and on-screen sister, starting his remarks with what he posted on Twitter earlier in the day, “May the Fourth be Carrie Frances Fisher Day.” He called her at one point during the remarks his “beloved space-twin.”
Lourd, wearing a dress with an image of her mother as Princess Leia printed on it, accepted the star on behalf of her mother. She finished her remarks by saying, “Thank you to the fans who love her as much as I do,” before unveiling her mother’s star with help from Hamill and next to C3-PO and R2-D2. She then sprinkled some glitter that her mother was so fond of on the star itself.
(L-R) Austen Rydell, Bryan Lourd and Billie Lourd attend the ceremony for Carrie Fisher being honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 04, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
Fisher’s brother and sister were not part of the ceremony, spurring Lourd to speak out on Wednesday, claiming that her uncle and aunts were trying to capitalize on her mother’s death, Entertainment Weekly reported.
“I have seen the postings and press release issued by my mother’s brother and sister,” Lourd said in a statement. “I apologize to anyone reading this for feeling the need to defend myself publicly from these family members. But unfortunately, because they publicly attacked me, I have to publicly respond. The truth is I did not invite them to this ceremony. They know why.”
Fisher’s brother Todd Fisher told TMZ this week, “It’s heartbreaking and shocking to me that I was intentionally omitted from attending this important legacy event for my sister, Carrie.”
He claims that he is the one who started the process to get his sister her star and that he was inseparable from her for more than 60 years, TMZ reported.
According to the Walk of Fame, “The criteria for receiving a star consists of the following: professional achievement, longevity in the category of five years or more, contributions to the community and the guarantee that the celebrity will attend the dedication ceremony if selected. Posthumous awards require a two-year waiting period after death.”
It currently costs $75,000 for a star with the money going to the creation, installation and maintenance.
Carrie Fisher’’s half-sisters, Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher posted photos of the three of them together on Instagram with Joely Fisher writing, “For some bizarre, misguided reason our niece has chosen not to include us in this epic moment in our sister’s career.” She added, “The fact that her only brother and two sisters were intentionally and deliberately excluded is deeply shocking.”
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Carrie Fisher died on Dec. 27, 2016, at the age of 60. She had suffered a heart attack, People magazine reported. Fisher was flying from London to Los Angeles when she went into cardiac arrest on Dec. 23. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
A coroner’s report released about six months after Carrie Fisher’s death said the manner was undetermined but “sleep apnea and other undetermined factors” contributed to her demise, CNN reported. The report also stated that there were signs of “multiple drug intake” and that she had suffered from “drug use” and atherosclerotic heart disease, or a build-up of fats and cholesterol on the walls of arteries.
Lourd said at the time of the report that her mother “battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life,” adding that “she ultimately died of it,” CNN reported.
Reynolds, died the next day at the age of 84 of a stroke, The New York Times reported.
American actress and singer Debbie Reynolds (1932 – 2016) with her husband, singer Eddie Fisher (1928 – 2010) and their baby daughter Carrie Fisher (1956 – 2016), circa 1956. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Group portrait of, from left, American actress Debbie Reynolds (1932 – 2016), US President Richard Nixon (1913 – 1994), Reynolds’ daughter, actress Carrie Fisher (1956 – 2016), and First Lady Pat Nixon (1912 – 1993) as they pose togather in the White House, Washington DC, February 10, 1974. (Photo by White House Photo Office/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
American actors Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford on the set of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope written, directed and produced by Georges Lucas. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Actors Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams pose for a portrait on the set of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 1979 in London, England. (Photo by Mark Sennet/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – MAY 12: Actresses Debbie Reynolds (L) and Carrie Fisher (R) arrive at the premiere of "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," at the Loews Cineplex Uptown Theatre May 12, 2005 in Washington, DC. Star Wars premiers are taking place across the country tonight. (Photo by Shaun Heasley/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD – JUNE 09: Actress Carrie Fisher and director George Lucas pose at the 33rd AFI Life Achievement Award after party at the Highlands on June 9, 2005 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD – JUNE 09: (L-R) Actors Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford speak onstage during the 33rd AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to George Lucas at the Kodak Theatre on June 9, 2005 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
HENDERSON, NV – FEBRUARY 27: Actress Carrie Fisher (L) and her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, arrive for Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s 75th birthday party at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas on February 27, 2007 in Henderson, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 11: American Actress, Carrie Fisher poses for a portrait during her "Wishful Drinking" tour at the Sydney Observatory Hotel on October 11, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA – AUGUST 04: Actress Carrie Fisher speaks onstage during the Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne Barr at Hollywood Palladium on August 4, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher attend the Midnight Mission’s 100 year anniversary Golden Heart Gala held at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on September 30, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Araya Diaz/Getty Images for The Midnight Mission)
SANTA MONICA, CA – FEBRUARY 19: Honoree Carrie Fisher attends the US-Ireland Aliiance’s Oscar Wilde Awards event at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot on February 19, 2015 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-IRELAND ALLIANCE)
SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 10: Actress Carrie Fisher and more than 6000 fans enjoyed a surprise Star Wars Fan Concert performed by the San Diego Symphony, featuring the classic Star Wars music of composer John Williams, at the Embarcadero Marina Park South on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 10: (L-R) Actors Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford pose onstage at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA – DECEMBER 14: Actresses Carrie Fisher (L) and Billie Lourd attend the Premiere of Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm’s "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at the Dolby Theatre on December 14, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 04: View of podium at the ceremony for Carrie Fisher being honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 04, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 04: (L-R) Austen Rydell, Bryan Lourd and Billie Lourd attend the ceremony for Carrie Fisher being honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 04, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 04: Mark Hamill speaks onstage during the ceremony for Carrie Fisher being honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 04, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 04: Mark Hamill speaks onstage during the ceremony for Carrie Fisher being honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 04, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 04: Billie Lourd speaks onstage during the ceremony for Carrie Fisher being honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 04, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 04: Billie Lourd speaks onstage during the ceremony for Carrie Fisher being honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 04, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)