The Velvet Onion is sad to report the death of actress Carrie Fisher at the age of 60, and we join the countless millions around the world who will remember her talent for many years to come.

Best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the forthcoming eighth instalment in the main Star Wars franchise due for release in December 2017, Carrie Fisher may be best known for her work in George Lucas’ epic space opera, but her work extended far beyond a galaxy far far away.

Following roles in When Harry Met Sally and The Burbs, Fisher went on to star in Drop Dead Fred (alongside the late, great Rik Mayall), Austin Powers and Scream 3, and make guest appearances in 30 Rock, Sex and the City, Smallville, The Big Bang Theory, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce and Family Guy.

Behind the scenes, too, Fisher worked as a ‘script doctor’ within Hollywood, tweaking the screenplays for enormous box-office hits including Hook (in which she also cameos), Lethal Weapon 3, Sister Act, The Wedding Singer and Intolerable Cruelty.

In recent years, Fisher had become a semi-regular on British television screens. 2013 saw her appear as a guest narrator on Dave’s popular anthology series Crackanory, telling a tale written by TVO’s Nico Tatarowicz (revisit it here) and co-starring Nicholas Burns and Alex Kirk.

Appearances on QI and various UK chat-shows followed, and shortly afterwards, Fisher joined the cast of Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney‘s multi-award-winning Catastrophe (revisit it here) in the recurring role of Rob’s mother, Mia – a role she was likely to reprise in the next season of the show.

In recent weeks, Fisher worked with Aisling Bea on a project, as revealed by the comedienne on Twitter this evening. She wrote: “It was an a dream to work with Carrie Fisher just two weeks ago. She was hilarious with an acerbic, sexy sense of humour & was well able for a 3 hour record in a room of professional stand ups, as was her dog Gary. […] Amazing woman & actress.”

Sadly, Carrie Fisher suffered a cardiac arrest whilst on a flight from London to Los Angeles on December 23rd, shortly after completing her work on the next Star Wars film, and was rushed to hospital. On the morning of December 27th, Ms Fisher passed away, as she’d put it herself… “drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.”

An inimitable talent, who will undoubtedly be missed. TVO would like to extend our condolences to her family, friends and all who knew her.