Such was the star power of the late Carrie Fisher that through her role of Princess (later General) Leia, her talents as a novelist and presence as much loved presence in Hollywood, she was continually drafted in to elevate a film - if even for a cameo appearance.

While racking up several high-profile roles (Meg Ryan's best friend in When Harry met Sally... in 1989 and Tom Hanks' wife in The 'Burbs), Fisher's talents didn't end there: the actor wrote and published Postcards from the Edge in 1987, a film version of which was released three years later starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine; the story is a satirisation of real-life events focused on Fisher's relationship with her mother, Debbie Reynolds.

Fisher made cameo appearances in films as early as 1980 - the same year as The Empire Strikes Back; she showed up as 'mystery girl' in The Blues Brothers, just two years after Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi's characters featured on Fisher's episode of Saturday Night Live.

Carrie Fisher's Star Wars audition

These cameo appearances grew well into the 90s with a series of uncredited roles (Outbreak, The Wedding Siger), the most memorable arriving as a therapist opposite Mike Myers character Dr Evil in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

"But Scott, who's going to take over the world when I die?" Dr Evil asks his son, genuinely.

"Listen to the words he used," Fisher's character replies. "Who's going to take over the world when I die. It feels like that to some of us sometimes, doesn't it?"

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Just a year later, Fisher appeared in horror satire Scream 3 as former Hollywood star Bianca Burnette, a role she helped to write at the suggestion of producer Bob Weinstein.

It wasn't just film that Fisher starred in; she made a brief appearance as herself in Sex and the City for a scene that saw protagonist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) wake up in bed with Fisher's PA (Vince Vaughn).