Source: Anthony Devlin

STAR WARS ACTRESS Carrie Fisher has died at the age of 60.

People Magazine reported this evening that she had died after suffering a heart attack.

She passed away at 8.55am this morning, a statement from her family said.

“It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8.55 this morning,” family spokesman Simon Halls said in a statement on behalf of Fisher’s daughter.

“She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly.”

The actress had suffered a heart attack while on a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday.

She was given CPR by an emergency responder on board.

News reports on Saturday said Fisher had just finished filming the third season of the Amazon comedy television series Catastrophe, which is set in London and written by Irishwoman Sharon Horgan and comedian Rob Delaney.

Source: AP/Press Association Images

Fisher was catapulted to worldwide stardom as the rebel warrior Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, which has been a cultural phenomenon since the films were released from 1977 to 1983.

She also starred in the most recent Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, reprising her role as Princess Leia.

She was born to Hollywood stars Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, and followed in her parents’ footsteps by pursuing an acting career. She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London for a year, before returning to the USA.

Her breakout role was as General Leia Organa, which she took up when she was just 19. Two more films followed the debut Star Wars film. Fisher went on to star in The Blues Brothers, Hannah and her Sisters, and When Harry Met Sally, and reprised her role as Princess Leia in The Force Awakens last year.

Fisher was open about her addiction issues, which she touched in her book Postcards From the Edge. It was later made into a film.

She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the mid-1980s and was candid about her mental health experiences.

In an interview with WebMD Magazine, Fisher was asked if she could change any of her past, would she. She answered:

I always think those kind of questions are weird. It’s implausible; it’s not an option! Going through challenging things can teach you a lot, and they also make you appreciate the times that aren’t so challenging … The only regret [I have with] my difficulties is making my daughter go through them.

Her daughter, Billie Lourd, was born in 1992 and currently stars in Scream Queens.

- Additional reporting AFP