The 10th Empire Awards (AKA Sony Ericsson Empire Awards), honoring the best in film in 2004, were held on March 13, 2005^[1] at London's Guildhall and hosted by Johnny Vaughan.^[2][3] It was directed by Dave Skinner^[4] and was broadcast on Channel 5.^[5] Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold.

Winners and Nominees[link]

Best Film[link]

The Bourne Supremacy^[6]

• Collateral^[6]
• Kill Bill: Vol. 2^[6]
• Spider-Man 2^[6]
• The Incredibles^[6]

Best British Film[link]

Shaun of the Dead^[7]

• Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason^[7]
• Dead Man's Shoes^[7]
• Enduring Love^[7]
• Layer Cake^[7]

Best Actor[link]

Matt Damon — The Bourne Supremacy^[8]

• Jim Carrey — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind^[8]
• Johnny Depp — Finding Neverland^[8]
• Tobey Maguire — Spider-Man 2^[8]
• Tom Cruise — Collateral^[8]

Best British Actor[link]

Paddy Considine — Dead Man's Shoes^[9]

• Daniel Craig — Layer Cake^[9]
• Paul Bettany — Wimbledon^[9]
• Rhys Ifans — Enduring Love^[9]
• Simon Pegg — Shaun of the Dead^[9]

Best Actress[link]

Julie Delpy — Before Sunset^[10]

• Bryce Dallas Howard — The Village^[10]
• Cate Blanchett — The Aviator^[10]
• Kirsten Dunst — Spider-Man 2^[10]
• Uma Thurman — Kill Bill: Vol. 2^[10]

Best British Actress[link]

Kate Winslet — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind^[11]

• Imelda Staunton — Vera Drake^[11]
• Kate Ashfield — Shaun of the Dead^[11]
• Keira Knightley — King Arthur^[11]
• Samantha Morton — Enduring Love^[11]

Best Director[link]

Sam Raimi — Spider-Man 2^[12]

• M. Night Shyamalan — The Village^[12]
• Michael Mann — Collateral^[12]
• Michel Gondry — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind^[12]
• Quentin Tarantino — Kill Bill: Vol. 2^[12]

Best British Director[link]

Matthew Vaughn — Layer Cake^[13]

• Edgar Wright — Shaun of the Dead^[13]
• Paul Greengrass — The Bourne Supremacy^[13]
• Roger Michell — Enduring Love^[13]
• Shane Meadows — Dead Man's Shoes^[13]

Best Newcomer[link]

Freddie Highmore — Finding Neverland^[14]

• Bryce Dallas Howard — The Village^[14]
• Matthew Vaughn — Layer Cake^[14]
• Sienna Miller — Alfie and Layer Cake^[14]
• Zach Braff — Garden State^[14]

Sony Ericsson Scene Of The Year[link]

Enduring Love: The Balloon Sequence.^[15]

• The Bourne Supremacy: The Moscow car chase sequence.^[15]
• Kill Bill: Vol. 2: "The Bride" versus "Elle" sequence.^[15]
• Shaun of the Dead: The Records and Zombies scene.^[15]
• Spider-Man 2: Spiderman battles Dr. Octopus on the train.^[15]

Special Awards[link]

Independent Spirit Award[link]

Kevin Smith^[16]

Inspiration Award[link]

Pixar^[17]

Icon of the Decade[link]

Quentin Tarantino^[18]

Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema[link]

Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan of Working Title Films^[19]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Sonny Ericsson Empire Awards 2005 official website
• Empire Awards 2005 - IMDb

Empire Award
17th Empire Awards
220px An Empire award
Awarded for	Excellence in cinematic achievements
Presented by	Empire
Country	United Kingdom
First awarded	1996
Last awarded	March 25, 2012 (2012-03-25)
Official website	2012 Official website

An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the local and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented with the award which is covered by Empire and sometimes also televised. They were sponsored by Sony Ericsson^[1] between the 8th and the 13th Empire Awards with the exception of the 12th which was without a ceremony,^[2] and since the 14th Empire Awards are sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey.^[3]

The first Empire Awards ceremony was held on 1996, to honour outstanding film achievements of the 1995 film season. The most recent ceremony, honouring films in 2011, was held at Grosvenor House Hotel on March 25, 2012.

Empire Awards categories[link]

Award categories as of 2012[link]

• Best Actor: 1996 to present
• Best Actress: 1996 to present
• Best British Film: 1996 to present; In 2002 it was known as "Sky Movies Best British Film"
• Best Comedy: 2006 to present
• Best Director: 1996 to present
• Best Film: 1996 to present
• Best Horror: 2006 to present
• Best Newcomer: 1996 to present; It was known as "Best Debut" from 1996 to 2002; in 2007 it was split to "Best Male Newcomer" and "Best Female Newcomer"
• Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 2006 to present; In 2009 it was known as "Best Sci-Fi/Superhero"
• Best Thriller: 2006 to present
• Done In 60 Seconds Award: 2008 to present

Retired awards[link]

• Best British Actor: 1996 to 2005
• Best British Actress: 1996 to 2005
• Best British Director: 1997 to 2001; 2005
• Sony Ericsson Scene of the Year: 2003 to 2007; In 2007 it was known as "Scene Of The Year"
• Sony Ericsson Soundtrack Award: to 2008 - 2009; In 2009 it was known as "Best Soundtrack"

Special Empire Awards[link]

Current special awards[link]

• Empire Hero Award: 2010 to present
• Empire Inspiration Award: 1997; 1999 to 2002; 2004 to 2006; 2008; 2010 to present
• Icon Award: 2006; 2008 to present

Retired special awards[link]

• Actor Of Our Lifetime: 2009 only
• Contribution to Cinema: 2000 only; Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema: 2005 to 2006; Outstanding Contribution To British Film from 2008 to 2010
• Empire Career Achievement Award: 2004 only
• Empire Independent Spirit Award: 2002 to 2005
• Empire Lifetime Achievement Award: 1996 to 2004; 2006;
• Empire Movie Masterpiece: 1999 to 2000
• Heath Ledger Tribute: 2009 only
• Icon of the Decade: 2005 only

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Jameson Empire Awards 2012 official website (current ceremony)
• Empire Awards at IMDb

Edith Bowman
Presenting at the BT Digital Music Awards
Born	Edith Eleanor Bowman (1975-01-15) 15 January 1975 (age 37) Anstruther, Fife, Scotland
Occupation	Radio/TV Presenter
Known for	Formerly Weekday afternoon Radio 1 show
Children	Rudy Brae Bowman Smith
Website
edithbowman.com

Edith Eleanor Bowman (born 15 January 1974) is a Scottish music critic, radio DJ and television presenter. She is mostly known for hosting the weekday afternoon show and from September 2009 weekend morning on BBC Radio 1 and for presenting a variety of music related television shows and music festivals.^[1]

Media career[link]

Television[link]

Bowman's first on-screen job on TV was as a news reader on MTV UK. She went on to host many shows for the station, including co-presenting chart show Hitlist UK with Cat Deeley, with whom she also presented travel show Roadtripping for BBC Choice in 2002.

She became a presenter on Channel 4's breakfast show RI:SE when it launched on 29 April 2002.

In 2004, she co-presented the BBC Scotland series Teen Commandments with Cameron Stout. After occasional appearances in 2003, Bowman co-presented Top of the Pops up until the end of the series, replacing Fearne Cotton while she was away. In total she appeared on the show ten times including the final weekly episode. She returned to Top of the Pops for the 2006 Christmas Special.

Since 2005, she has been the voice of the television and radio adverts for the electrical store, Comet.

She has also presented various music programmes for Channel 4 such as Channel 4 Presents... and TBA. Edith also appeared on children's art program SMart in 2007.

Edith regularly appears on coverage of festivals such as Glastonbury, T In The Park and Reading and Leeds Festival, for both BBC Radio and TV.

In 2010, she appeared on Noel Fielding's team on the BBC satirical music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, alongside Irish recording artist Imelda May.

On 29 April 2011, she reported for BBC TV on their coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.^[2]

Recently^[when?] she has been narrating the McFly Documentary McFly on the Wall.

Radio[link]

Bowman presented Hit Music Sunday with Cat Deeley on Capital FM in 2001–2002.

On 29 March 2003, she teamed up with Colin Murray, who had also worked on RI:SE, to co-host Colin and Edith on BBC Radio 1. In April 2004 this show moved from a weekend morning slot to weekday afternoons, broadcasting between 13:00 and 16:00, after the departure of Mark and Lard from the station.

In August 2006, Bowman became the sole occupier of the BBC Radio 1 afternoon 13:00 to 16:00 slot, with Murray taking over a Late Night Specialist slot. In September 2008, she returned to the airwaves following maternity leave, initially taking over from Dick and Dom on the Sunday Morning Lie In from 10:00 to 13:00. She then returned to weekday afternoons on 3 November 2008.

In July 2009 it was announced that Radio 1 were to change their daytime schedule, and this saw Bowman moved to Weekend Breakfast, with Greg James replacing her on the afternoon programme.^[3] Bowman was quoted as saying she felt she had taken her shows as far as she could, and the move meant she could create a new show for a new market.^[4][5]

In February 2012, it was announced that Edith Bowman was being replaced by Gemma Cairney on Weekend Breakfast, and would move to Tuesday evenings, in order to take over The Review Show, from Nihal. Her first show of the new Review Show was on 24 April 2012.

Career milestones[link]

In 2005, Bowman presented BBC Scotland's coverage of the Live 8 event at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, and hosted the network's T in the Park programmes together with Dougie Anderson who had also worked on RI:SE.^[6] Also in 2005, she hosted the Q Awards with Colin Murray live on BBC Radio 1.

She also presented the BBC Three TV coverage of Glastonbury, T in the Park and The Reading Festival with Colin Murray. She also hosted the TV coverage of the first Electric Proms with Zane Lowe.

On 7 July 2007 she was a presenter of the BBC coverage of Live Earth.

Since leaving the weekday afternoon slot on Radio 1 Bowman's TV career has extended. She has presented several one off film specials for Channel 4. She has also presented "Evo Music Rooms" a late night music programme for Channel 4 and presents The Vue Film Show, also for Channel 4. In 2011, she is also due to present "T in the Park" music festival for BBC3.

Charity interests[link]

In May 2008, Bowman supported the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign in support of Breakthrough Breast Cancer,^[7] alongside fellow celebrities: comedian Alan Carr, actress Anna Friel, singer Natalie Imbruglia and model Twiggy.^[8]

Singing[link]

Bowman's television debut was on the Grampian Television talent show The Big Break.^[9] At the age of 14, she covered Bananarama’s Venus but finished joint last in her heat.

on 11 March 2005 she won the TV talent show Comic Relief does Fame Academy, a charity music contest in which she sang Champagne Supernova with Jools Holland's band.^[10] Earlier in the competition she sang a version of Blondie's "Hanging on the Telephone". The show also featured Al Murray, Kim Medcalf, Adrian Edmondson, Jon Culshaw, Konnie Huq, Dawn Steele, and other celebrities.

Personal life[link]

Bowman was born in Anstruther in Fife, Scotland. She studied at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. In 2004, she began dating Elbow frontman Guy Garvey until she left him in 2005, inspiring many of the songs for his third album, Leaders of the Free World.^{[citation needed]} Edith lives in London with Editors frontman Tom Smith.^[1] In December 2007 it was announced they were expecting a baby.^[11] On 10 June 2008, Bowman gave birth to son Rudy Brae Bowman Smith.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Edith Bowman

• Official website
• BBC Radio 1's Review Show with Edith Bowman at BBC Programmes
• Edith Bowman on Myspace
• Edith Bowman on Twitter
• Edith Bowman at the Internet Movie Database

Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman at the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in July 2011
Born	Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (1946-02-21) 21 February 1946 (age 66) Hammersmith, London, England
Occupation	Actor (stage, screen)
Years active	1978–present
Partner	Rima Horton (1965–present)

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (born 21 February 1946) is an English actor of stage and screen. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His breakout performance was as the Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. Rickman is known for his film performances as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series, Éamon de Valera in Michael Collins, and Metatron in Dogma.

Rickman has also had a number of other notable film roles such as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply, P.L. O'Hara in An Awfully Big Adventure and Colonel Brandon in Ang Lee's 1995 film Sense and Sensibility. More recently, he played Judge Turpin in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Early life[link]

Rickman was born in South Hammersmith, London, to a working class family, the son of Margaret Doreen Rose (née Bartlett), a housewife, and Bernard Rickman, a factory worker.^[1] Rickman's mother was from Wales and a Methodist, and his father was of Irish Catholic background.^[2] He has one elder brother, David (b. 1944), a graphic designer, a younger brother, Michael (b. 1947), a tennis coach, and a younger sister, Sheila (b. 1949).^[2][3] Rickman attended Derwentwater Primary School, in Acton, a school that followed the Montessori method of education.^[4]

When he was eight, his father died, leaving his mother to bring up four children mostly alone. She married again, but divorced his stepfather after three years. "There was one love in her life," Rickman later said.^[2] Rickman excelled at calligraphy and watercolour painting, and from Derwentwater Junior School he won a scholarship to Latymer Upper School in London, where he started getting involved in drama. After leaving Latymer, Rickman attended Chelsea College of Art and Design and then the Royal College of Art. This education allowed him to work as a graphic designer for the radical newspaper the Notting Hill Herald,^[5] which he considered a more stable occupation than acting. "Drama school wasn't considered the sensible thing to do at 18," he said.

After graduation, Rickman and several friends opened a graphic design studio called Graphiti, but after three years of successful business, he decided that if he were to ever explore acting professionally, it was now or never. This led him to write a letter to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) requesting an audition^[6] and was awarded a place in RADA which he attended from 1972–74. While there, he studied Shakespeare's works and supported himself by working as a dresser for Sir Nigel Hawthorne and Sir Ralph Richardson,^[7] and left after winning several prizes, including the Emile Littler Prize, the Forbes Robertson Prize, and the Bancroft Gold Medal.

Rickman in December 2009

Career[link]

After graduating from RADA, Rickman worked extensively with various British repertory and experimental theatre groups on productions including The Seagull and Snoo Wilson's The Grass Widow at the Royal Court Theatre, and has appeared three times at the Edinburgh International Festival. In 1978, he played with the Court Drama Group, performing in several plays, most notably Romeo And Juliet and A View from the Bridge. While working with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) he starred in, among other things, As You Like It.

In 1982, British television audiences came to know Alan Rickman as the Reverend Obadiah Slope in the BBC's adaptation of Barchester Towers known as The Barchester Chronicles. In 1985, Rickman was given the male lead, the Vicomte de Valmont, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Christopher Hampton's Les Liaisons Dangereuses, directed by Howard Davies.^[8] When the show went to Broadway in 1987, Rickman earned both a Tony Award nomination^[9] and a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance.^[10] In 1992, he was the "master of ceremonies" on Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells II where he read off a list of instruments on the album.

Rickman's career has been filled with a wide variety of roles. He has played romantic leads like Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, and Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply, as well as numerous villains in Hollywood big budget films: German terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988), the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and most recently Severus Snape, the potions master in the Harry Potter series (2001–2011). In 1995, Rickman turned down the role of Alec Trevelyan in the James Bond film GoldenEye.

His role in Die Hard earned him a spot on the AFI's 100 years...100 Heroes & Villains as the 46th best villain in film history. His performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves also made him known as one of the best actors to portray a villain in films.^[11][12] He has taken issue with being typecast as a "villain actor", citing the fact that he has not portrayed a stock villain character since the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991.

During his long career Rickman has also played a number of comedic roles, sending up classically trained British actors who take on "lesser roles" as the character Sir Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus in the science fiction spoof Galaxy Quest, portraying the angel Metatron, the voice of God, in Dogma, appearing as Emma Thompson's foolish husband Harry in Love Actually, providing the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the egotistical, Nobel Prize-winning father in Nobel Son.

Rickman at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival

Rickman has also received acclaim for two biographical pieces he did for HBO. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy^[13] for his performance as Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny in 1996, and was also nominated for an Emmy for his work as Dr. Alfred Blalock in 2004's Something the Lord Made. He also starred in the independent film Snow Cake (with Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss) which had its debut at the Berlinale, and also Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (with Dustin Hoffman), directed by Tom Tykwer.

In 2007, Rickman appeared in the critically acclaimed Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street directed by Tim Burton, alongside Harry Potter co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Timothy Spall; he played antagonist Judge Turpin. Rickman also appeared as Absolem the Caterpillar in Burton's 2010 film Alice in Wonderland.

Rickman has performed on stage in Noël Coward's romantic comedy Private Lives, which transferred to Broadway after its successful run in London at the Albery Theatre and ended in September 2002. Rickman had reunited with his Les Liaisons Dangereuses co-star Lindsay Duncan and director Howard Davies for this Tony Award-winning production.

His previous stage performance was as Mark Antony, opposite Helen Mirren as Cleopatra, in the Royal National Theatre's production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Olivier Theatre in London, which ran from 20 October to 3 December 1998. Before that, he performed in Yukio Ninagawa's Tango at the End of Winter in London's West End and the Riverside Studio production of Hamlet in 1991, directed by Robert Sturua.

Rickman had also directed The Winter Guest at London's Almeida Theatre in 1995 and the film version of the same play in 1996 starring Emma Thompson and her real life mother Phyllida Law. He also compiled (with Katharine Viner) and directed the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie in April 2005 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, and won the Theatre Goers' Choice Awards for Best Director. In May 2010, he finished directing Strindberg's play Creditors at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Harvey Theatre after its previous run at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2008.

In 2009 Rickman was given the James Joyce Award by University College Dublin’s Literary and Historical Society.^[14]

In October and November 2010, Rickman starred in the eponymous role in Henrik Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin alongside Lindsay Duncan and Fiona Shaw.^[15] The Irish Independent called Rickman's performance breathtaking.^[16] This production subsequently travelled to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for performances in January and February 2011.^[17]

In 2011, Rickman again appeared as Severus Snape in the final instalment in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times said Rickman "as always, makes the most lasting impression,"^[18] while Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Rickman "sublime at giving us a glimpse at last into the secret nurturing heart that [...] Snape masks with a sneer."^[19] Media coverage characterized Rickman's performance as worthy of an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25]} He earned his first award nominations for his role as Snape at the 2011 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards, 2011 Saturn Awards, 2011 Scream Awards and 2011 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category.^{[26][27][28][29]}

On 21 November 2011, Rickman opened in Seminar, a new play by Theresa Rebeck, at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway.^[30] Rickman, who left the production on April 1, won the Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite Actor in a Play^[31] and was nominated for a Drama League Award.^[32]

Rickman is to star with Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz in a remake of 1966's Gambit by the Coen brothers.^[33]

In the media[link]

Alan Rickman posing for a fan after a performance of John Gabriel Borkman in 2011

Rickman was chosen by Empire as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (No 34) in 1995 and ranked No 59 in Empire's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in October 1997. In 2009 and 2010 Rickman ranked once again as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars by Empire, both times Rickman was placed 8th out of the 50 actors chosen. Rickman became Vice-Chairman of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2003. He was voted No 19 in Empire magazine's Greatest Living Movie Stars over the age of 50 and was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actor (Play): in 1987 for Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and in 2002 for a revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives. The Guardian named Rickman as an "honourable mention" in a list of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.^[34]

Two researchers, a linguist and a sound engineer, found "the perfect [male] voice" to be a combination of Rickman's and Jeremy Irons's voices based on a sample of 50 voices.^[35] Coincidentally, the two actors played brothers in the Die Hard series of films.

Rickman has also been featured in several musical works – most notably in a song composed by the English songwriter Adam Leonard entitled "Not Alan Rickman".^[36] Moreover, the actor played a "Master of Ceremonies" part in announcing the various instruments in Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells II on the track The Bell.^[37] Rickman was one of the many artists who recited Shakespearian sonnets on the 2002 album When Love Speaks,^[38] and is also featured prominently in a music video by the band Texas entitled "In Demand",^[39] which premiered on Europe MTV in August 2000. In the video, lead singer Sharleen Spiteri danced the tango with Rickman: the clip was nominated for Best British Video at the Brit Awards.

Personal life[link]

In 1965, at the age of 19, Rickman met his partner Rima Horton, a Labour party councillor on Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council 1986-2006.^{[40][41][42][43]} They began living together in 1977.^[41]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alan Rickman

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alan Rickman

• Alan Rickman at the Internet Movie Database
• Alan Rickman at the Internet Broadway Database
• Alan Rickman at AllRovi
• Alan Rickman at Emmys.com

Carrie Fisher
Fisher at WonderCon 2009
Born	Carrie Frances Fisher (1956-10-21) October 21, 1956 (age 55) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, novelist, screenwriter, performance artist
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Paul Simon (1983–1984)
Partner	Bryan Lourd (1991–1994)
Children	1
Parents	Eddie Fisher Debbie Reynolds

Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and performance artist. She is best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge and screenplay for a film of the same name, and her autobiographical one-woman play, Wishful Drinking.

Early life[link]

Fisher was born in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. Her father was Jewish, the son of immigrants from Russia, and her mother was Protestant.^[1][2][3] Her younger brother is producer and actor Todd Fisher, and her half-sisters are actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher. Joely and Tricia's mother is the singer/actress Connie Stevens.

When Carrie Fisher was two, her parents divorced after her father left Debbie for her best friend, actress Elizabeth Taylor, the widow of Eddie's best friend Mike Todd. The following year, her mother married shoe store chain owner Harry Karl, who secretly spent her life savings. It was assumed from an early age that Carrie would go into the family show business, and she began appearing with her mother in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 12. She attended Beverly Hills High School, but she left to join her mother on the road. She appeared as a debutante and singer in the hit Broadway revival Irene (1973), starring her mother.

Career[link]

1970s[link]

Fisher with Wim Wenders in 1978

In 1973, Fisher enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, which she attended for 18 months. She made her film debut in the Columbia comedy Shampoo (1975) starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn, with Lee Grant and Jack Warden. In 1977, Fisher starred as Princess Leia in George Lucas' science fiction film Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) opposite Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, a part she sarcastically claims to have obtained by sleeping "with some nerd."^[4] At the time she thought the script for Star Wars was fantastic but didn't expect that many people would agree with her and although her fellow actors weren't close they bonded after the commercial success of the film.^[5] The huge success of Star Wars made her internationally famous and the character of Princess Leia became a merchandising triumph; there were small plastic action figures of the Princess in toy stores across the United States. She appeared as Princess Leia in the 1978 made-for-TV film, The Star Wars Holiday Special.

In May 1978, she appeared alongside John Ritter in the ABC-TV film Leave Yesterday Behind as a horse trainer who helps Ritter's character after an accident leaves him a paraplegic. At this time, Fisher appeared with Laurence Olivier and Joanne Woodward in the anthology series Laurence Olivier Presents in a television version of the William Inge play Come Back, Little Sheba.

In November 1978, Fisher was the guest host for Saturday Night Live with musical guests The Blues Brothers and special guest Don Novello as Father Guido Sarducci. Dressed in a gold bikini, she reprised her Princess Leia character from Star Wars in "Beach Blanket Bimbo from Outer Space", a parody sketch of 1960s beach party films. Bill Murray and Gilda Radner imitated the Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello characters. John Belushi played biker Eric Von Zipper, and Dan Aykroyd, with whom Fisher was romantically involved, portrayed Vincent Price.

Fisher appeared in the music video for Ringo Starr's cover of "You're Sixteen" as the love interest in 1978 on his TV special of that year.^[6][7]

1980s[link]

Fisher later appeared in The Blues Brothers film as Joliet Jake's vengeful ex-lover, listed in the credits as "Mystery Woman". She appeared on Broadway in Censored Scenes from King Kong in 1980. That year, she appeared again as Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. She made her third and final appearance as Leia in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, for which she became a sex symbol due to her appearance wearing a golden metal bikini (the slave girl outfit which almost immediately rose to pop culture icon status). She is one of the few actors or actresses to star in films with both John and James Belushi, later appearing with the latter in the film The Man with One Red Shoe. She also was a replacement in the Broadway production of Agnes of God (1982). She appeared in the Woody Allen film Hannah and her Sisters in 1986.

In 1987, Fisher published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge. The book was semi-autobiographical in the sense that she fictionalized and satirized real life events such as her drug addiction of the late 1970s.^[8] It became a bestseller, and she received the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel. Also during 1987, she was in the Australian film The Time Guardian. In 1989, Fisher played a major supporting role in When Harry Met Sally, and in the same year, she appeared opposite Tom Hanks as his wife in The 'Burbs.

1990s[link]

In 1990, Columbia Pictures released a film version of Postcards from the Edge, adapted for the screen by Fisher and starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, and Dennis Quaid. Fisher appeared in the fantasy comedy film Drop Dead Fred in 1991, and played a therapist in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). During the 1990s, Fisher also published the novels Surrender the Pink (1991) and Delusions of Grandma (1993).

2000s[link]

Fisher at Star Wars Celebration IV, 2007

In the film Scream 3 (2000), Fisher played an actress mistaken for Carrie Fisher. Director's commentary on the Scream 3 DVD suggests that the sequence was in fact penned by Fisher herself.

In 2001, Fisher played a nun in the Kevin Smith comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The title spoofs The Empire Strikes Back and the film, which includes Mark Hamill, satirizes many Hollywood movies, including the Star Wars series.

She also co-wrote the TV comedy film These Old Broads (2001), of which she was also co-executive producer. It starred her mother, Debbie Reynolds, as well as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins and Shirley MacLaine. In this, Taylor's character, an agent, explains to Reynolds' character, an actress, that she was in an alcoholic blackout when she married the actress's husband, "Freddy".

Besides acting and writing original works, Fisher was one of the top script doctors in Hollywood, working on the screenplays of other writers.^[9][10] She has done uncredited polishes on movies starting with The Wedding Singer and Sister Act,^[9] and was hired by the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, to polish scripts for his 1992 TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.^[9] Her expertise in this area was why she was chosen as one of the interviewers for the screenwriting documentary Dreams on Spec in 2007. However, during an interview in 2004 she said that she no longer does much script doctoring.^[10]

Fisher also voices Peter Griffin's boss Angela on the animated sitcom Family Guy and appeared in a book of photographs titled Hollywood Moms (2001) for which she wrote the introduction. Fisher published a sequel to Postcards, The Best Awful There Is in 2004. In August 2006, Fisher appeared prominently in the audience of the Comedy Central's Roast of William Shatner.

Fisher wrote and performed in her one-woman play Wishful Drinking at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles from November 7, 2006, to January 14, 2007.^[11] Her show played at the Berkeley Repertory Theater through April 2008,^[12] followed by performances in San Jose, California in July 2008, Hartford Stage in August 2008^[13] before moving on to the Arena Stage in Washington, DC in September 2008^[14] and Boston^[15] in October 2008. Fisher published her autobiographical book, called Wishful Drinking based on her successful play in December 2008 and embarked on a media tour. On April 2, 2009, Fisher returned to the stage with her play at the Seattle Repertory Theatre with performances through May 9, 2009.^[16] On October 4, 2009, Wishful Drinking then opened on Broadway in New York at Studio 54 and played an extended run until January 17, 2010.^[17][18] In December 2009, Fisher's bestselling memoir Wishful Drinking earned her a nomination for a 2009 Grammy Award in the Best Spoken Word Album category.^[19]

In 2007, she was a full-time judge on FOX's filmmaking-competition reality television series On the Lot.

Fisher joined Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne on Saturday evenings for The Essentials with informative and entertaining conversation on Hollywood's best films. She guest-starred in the episode titled "Sex and Another City" from season 3 of Sex and the City with Sarah Jessica Parker. This episode also featured Vince Vaughn, Hugh Hefner and Sam Seder in guest roles. On October 25, 2007, Fisher guest-starred as Rosemary Howard on the second season episode of 30 Rock called "Rosemary's Baby", for which she received an Emmy Award^[20] nomination. Her last line in the show was a spoof from Star Wars: "Help me Liz Lemon, You're my only hope!". On April 28, 2008, she was a guest on Deal or No Deal. In 2008, she also had a cameo as a doctor in the Star Wars related comedy Fanboys.

Fisher's Wishful Drinking aired as a feature-length documentary on HBO.^[21]

Fisher appeared on the seventh season of Entourage in the summer of 2010.^[21]

Personal life[link]

Fisher was briefly engaged to the actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd, who proposed on the set of their film The Blues Brothers in 1980. She has stated: "We had rings, we got blood tests, the whole shot. But then I got back together with Paul Simon."^[22]

Fisher dated musician Paul Simon from 1977 until 1983, then was married to him from August 1983 to July 1984, and they dated again for a time after their divorce. During their marriage, she appeared in Simon's music video for the song "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War".

Subsequently, she had a relationship with Creative Artists Agency principal and casting agent Bryan Lourd. They had one child together, Billie Catherine Lourd (born July 17, 1992). The couple's relationship ended when Lourd left to be in a homosexual relationship. Though Fisher has described Lourd as her second husband in interviews, according to a 2004 profile of the actress and writer, she and Lourd were never legally married.^[23]

Fisher also had a close relationship with James Blunt. While working on his album Back to Bedlam in 2003, Blunt spent much of his time at Fisher's residence. Vanity Fair's George Wayne wanted Fisher to explain if their relationship was sexual. Fisher dismissed the suggestion: "Absolutely not, but I did become his therapist. He was a soldier. This boy has seen awful stuff. Every time James hears fireworks or anything like that, his heart beats faster, and he gets 'fight or flight'. You know, he comes from a long line of soldiers dating back to the 10th century. He would tell me these horrible stories. He was a captain, a reconnaissance soldier. I became James’s therapist. So it would have been unethical to sleep with my patient."^[24]

On February 26, 2005, R. Gregory "Greg" Stevens, a lobbyist and advisor for the Republican Party, was found dead in Fisher's California home due to an overdose of OxyContin compounded by obstructive sleep apnea.^[25] In an interview, Fisher claimed that Stevens' ghost haunted her mansion. Fisher was unsettled by this: "I was a nut for a year," she explained, "and in that year I took drugs again."^[26]

Fisher has described herself as an "enthusiastic agnostic who would be happy to be shown that there is a God."^[27] She was raised Protestant,^[1] but often attends Jewish services, the faith of her father, with Orthodox friends.^[28] She was a spokesperson for Jenny Craig, Inc. Television ads airing in late January 2011.^[29]

Bipolar disorder and drug problems[link]

Fisher has publicly discussed her problems with drugs, her struggle with bipolar disorder, and her overcoming an addiction to prescription medication, most notably on ABC's 20/20 and The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive with Stephen Fry for the BBC. She discussed her 2008 memoir Wishful Drinking and various topics in it with Matt Lauer on NBC's Today on December 10, 2008 and also revealed that she wishes she had turned down the role of Princess Leia.^[30] This interview was followed by a similar appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on December 12, 2008, where she discussed her electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments.^[31] She has said that she receives ECT every six weeks to "blow apart the cement" in her brain.^[32]

While in Sydney, Australia, Fisher revealed in another interview that she had a cocaine addiction during filming of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and also survived an overdose. "Slowly, I realized I was doing a bit more drugs than other people and losing my choice in the matter" she said in an interview.^[33][34]

Filmography[link]