A wax figure is shown depicting Princess Leia in Berlin, Germany. The Star Wars icon is celebrated around the world. (Getty)
Carrie Fisher, who played the legendary character Princess Leia in Star Wars, was not as wealthy as some might think due to her iconic status on film. That’s the result of a bad marketing deal in her teens.
However, her daughter, Billie Lourd, could be in line to inherit a fortune, now that both Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, have died within one day of each other because Reynolds was considerably wealthier than Fisher. (Reynolds does have a living child, Todd.)
Carrie Fisher, who died on December 27 of cardiac arrest after suffering a massive heart attack on an airplane, was worth about $5 million, most reports on the topic say. Debbie Reynolds, who died of a stroke on December 28 after struggling to breathe while planning her daughter’s funeral, was worth a reported $60 million.
Fisher’s last post on Twitter was on December 21.
“🅿️📧🅾️🅿️🕒📧have🅰g📧D soⓂ️⛎©♓️Ucant even GET THEM 2 DOⓂ️🅾️✝️ℹ🅾️♑️©APTURE”-as ✝️♓️🅾️these folksR disobedientAuditions R held.Gary didnt get©🅰💲✝️
Fisher was reportedly on a ventilator.
Since Fisher was part of such an iconic movie franchise, it has some people wondering: What is Carrie Fisher’s net worth?
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Fisher Was Worth About Five Million Dollars
Carrie Fisher attends the 54th New York Film Festival – “Bright Lights” Photo Cal on October 10, 2016 in New York City. (Getty)
One report says that Fisher was worth $25 million. That’s low compared to some of her other Star Wars’ co-stars. For example, the same site says that Harrison Ford is worth $230 million. However, most sites say she’s worth $5 million.
Of course, Ford has starred in many other profitable movies.
2. Fisher Signed Away Her Likeness as Part of Her Star Wars Deal
Carrie Fisher attends the European Premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at Leicester Square on December 16, 2015 in London, England. (Getty)
How could Carrie Fisher be worth so little, relatively speaking, when she was part of the extremely profitable Star Wars movies?
According to Gobankingrates.com, Fisher was only 19 when she filmed her first Star Wars movie and made the critical mistake of signing away her likeness, meaning she didn’t earn money from Star Wars merchandise.
Fisher did agree to take a percentage of the first Star Wars movie’s profits, though, said The Review Journal.
Fisher was deemed too old to perform the motion capture for Princess Leia in the Star Wars’ movie, Rogue One.
3. Fisher Is Also a Best Selling Novelist
(L-R) Actors Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, 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. (Getty)
Fisher’s fortune didn’t only come from the Star Wars franchise. She was also an author, having made her biggest mark with the best-selling novel, Postcards on the Edge.
She wrote a screenplay based on that book, according to The Richest, and she wrote a one-woman play and book based on it called Wishful Drinking.
When she was stricken with the heart attack, Fisher was on her way back to Los Angeles from London, where she was promoting her latest book, The Princess Diarist, about her role as Princess Leia. In the book, she controversially disclosed that she had an affair with co-star Ford.
4. Fisher’s Parents Were Also Wealthy Movie Stars
Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds. (Getty)
Carrie Fisher is the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, both Hollywood icons of their own.
Reynolds’ net worth is reportedly higher than her daughter’s – $60 million. Reynolds, who is 84, has now died.
Eddie Fisher died in 2010 at the age of 82. He was married five times.
Carrie Fisher’s fortune has grown because of her roles in other movies as well. For example, she was featured in the movie When Harry Met Sally.
Her first movie was the film, Shampoo, in 1975.
5. Fisher Has One Child, a Daughter
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. (Getty)
Fisher’s heir (and possibly one of Reynolds’) would presumably be her only child, a daughter, Billie Lourd. Lourd is Fisher’s daughter with talent agent, Bryan Lourd, and she is also an actress.
Fisher’s one marriage was to Paul Simon. Billie Lourd’s net worth is also reported as being $5 million, due to a fledgling acting career. She appeared in the television show, Scream Queens, and had a cameo role in the 2015 Star Wars movie.